Bensberg Palace (Schloss Bensberg) is a former hunting lodge of the Counts Palatine of the Rhine (the House of Wittelsbach). The palace was commissioned by Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine for his wife Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici. Anna Maria Luisa enjoyed the site's elevated scenery and views onto the River Rhine, Rhine Valley and Cologne Bight. The building was designed by Italian Baroque architect Matteo Alberti and completed in 1711.
Today Bensberg Palace is a hotel.
References:The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.
In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians.