Landmarks & Sights in Kempen

Former Castle Site Haus Padenberg

The remains of a medieval knight's estate near Tönisberg, still surrounded today by a water-filled moat.

Gedenktafel Alter Bahnhof St. Hubert

At the site of the former St. Hubert railway station, a memorial plaque recalls the old "Schluff" light railway – today a historic place of remembrance on the Lower Rhine.

Georgsbrunnen (War Memorial)

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A 1912 fountain and war memorial on the Buttermarkt in Kempen, crowned by St George doing battle with the dragon.

Gleumeshof (Moated Farmstead)

A once moated, four-winged brick farmstead in Kempen's Schmalbroich district, protected as a ground monument since 1991.

Grabenanlage „Schanze“ (Moated Fortification)

A protected earthwork of ramparts and ditches in Kempen's Schmalbroich district, still readable in the terrain as the relief of an old fortification.

Haus Baaken

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A listed half-timbered house in Tönisberg with a Dutch late-Baroque façade, serving as an inn for over 250 years.

Haus Erprath (Tönisberg)

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A former knight's estate in Tönisberg (Kempen) with a 19th-century manor house, listed as a protected monument since 1992.

Haus Steinfunder

A heritage-listed former noble seat with a moated manor house on the edge of the Niers lowlands in the Kempen district of Schmalbroich.

Haus Velde

Former knight's estate near Kempen: a Renaissance building on the edge of the Schlootkuhlen nature reserve, its courtyard coat of arms bearing the year 1527.

Heiligenhäuschen (Wayside Shrine)

A small Catholic wayside shrine with a rendered façade on the path to the Kreuzkapelle in Kempen, a listed monument since 1990.

Heinz Mellen Birthplace

A memorial plaque in Kempen's old town marks the birthplace of dialect poet Heinz Mellen.

Kempen Castle

since 1347

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Alongside Zülpich Castle, it's considered the best-preserved 14th-century Electoral Cologne stronghold — with extensive original masonry.

Kuhtor

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Built around 1350, the Kuhtor is the only surviving tower gate of Kempen's original four city gates.

Landwehr

Near Hinterorbroich in Kempen's St. Hubert district, a section of a medieval Landwehr from around 1350 has survived — a protected archaeological monument and one of the last remnants of the former border fortification of the Electoral-Cologne district of Kempen.

Landwehr Section at Kleinheierweg

A surviving section of a medieval border earthwork (Landwehr) at Kleinheierweg in Kempen's Schmalbroich district, protected as a ground monument since 1992.

Mahnmal vor der Burg

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War memorial standing directly in front of Burg Kempen, commemorating the two World Wars. Erected in 1939 and created by Helmut Hentrich and Hans Heuser.

Memorial at the Former Synagogue of Kempen

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A memorial on Umstraße commemorates the Jewish community of Kempen and those of its members who were driven out or killed between 1933 and 1945. It stands near the site of the synagogue destroyed during the November Pogrom of 1938.

Moated Site of the Bollwerk Farm

Ground-monument-protected remains of a moat at a farmstead in Kempen's Schmalbroich district.

Monument to Baron Felix von Loe

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A bronze monument on the grounds of Kempen Castle honouring the chairman of the Rhenish Farmers' Association, founded in 1882.

Muttergotteshäuschen (Wayside Shrine)

Kempen's oldest wayside shrine to the Virgin Mary on Ellenstraße dates back to a 1540 endowment and is listed as historic monument no. 121.

Peterturm

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The listed Peterturm is a rebuilt part of Kempen's once-demolished city fortifications.

Stumbling Stones (Stolpersteine) in Kempen

Small brass plaques set into the pavement across Kempen commemorate residents who were persecuted and murdered under National Socialism. They are part of Gunter Demnig's Europe-wide memorial project.

The "An der Vinnbrück" Redoubt

Remains of a medieval fortified redoubt on the old border between the Archbishopric of Cologne and the County of Guelders, site of the 1284 Treaty of Vinnbrück.

Thomas à Kempis

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Monument to the Augustinian canon and author of "The Imitation of Christ," depicted seated with his masterwork in hand, since 1901.

Tönisberg Post Mill

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A post mill built in 1802 on the Tönisberg mill hill, opened to visitors by the local heritage society each Whit Monday.

Töpferdenkmal

A brick statue in Kempen's Tönisberg district commemorating the village's pottery tradition.

Villa Horten

Late Classicist villa from 1870 opposite Kempen Castle – briefly suspected crime scene in a 2008–2010 investigation.

Vinnbrück Treaty Memorial

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A small memorial house of fieldstone brick beside a bend in the B9 in Kempen-Tönisberg recalls, with a ceramic relief, the 1284 Treaty of Vinnbrück – a medieval alliance that echoed four years later in the Battle of Worringen.

War Memorial

A cross-shaped brick war memorial from 1933 in St. Hubert, listed as a protected monument (No. 127).

War Memorial Unterweiden

A 1925 war memorial in Kempen's Unterweiden district, listed as a historic monument since 1990.

Wayside Shrine "Seven Sorrows of Mary"

Late 19th-century wayside shrine featuring a relief of the "Seven Sorrows of Mary".

Landmarks & Sights