Vinnbrück Treaty Memorial
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.
Beside a curve of the B9, where Kempen-Tönisberg borders the Krefeld district of Hüls, stands a small memorial house built of fieldstone brick. It commemorates a political meeting that took place here more than 700 years ago at the medieval Landwehr crossing.
At a Glance
- Location
- a short side path off the bend in the B9, on Tönisberg ground
- Setting
- the border area between Kempen-Tönisberg and the Krefeld district of Hüls, below the southern slope of the Tönisberg Mühlenberg
- Occasion
- the Treaty of Vinnbrück, concluded on 16 August 1284
- Structure
- a small house of fieldstone brick
- Design
- by the Tönisberg artist Lutz Weynans
- Focal point
- a ceramic relief showing the four figures of the historic meeting
- Historical link
- the alliance played a role in the 1288 Battle of Worringen
- Name
- recorded in medieval times as "Vennebrugge" or "Vennebrucke"
The Treaty of Vinnbrück & the Battle of Worringen
On 16 August 1284 the Treaty of Vinnbrück was concluded at this Landwehr crossing – an alliance between the Archbishop and Elector of Cologne, Siegfried of Westerburg, and the Guelders count Rainald I. Four years later came the Battle of Worringen, where the archbishop and his allies were taken captive, among them the knight Gottfried of Hüls and Count Dietrich III of Moers. It is this historical context that gives the modest memorial its meaning – decisions made here had consequences that played out elsewhere.
The Memorial House and Its Ceramic Relief
Stepping up to the house, visitors face a ceramic relief that depicts the participants of the meeting with their coats of arms. On the left stands Archbishop Siegfried of Westerburg, a black cross on a white ground; on the right Count Rainald of Guelders, a golden lion with red claws on a blue ground. With them are the knight Gottfried of Hüls (a red water lily on a white ground) and Count Dietrich III of Moers (a black bar on a golden ground). In the background the artist Lutz Weynans rendered the silhouette of the Tönisberg heights and the tents pitched within the redoubt – a pictorial reference to the setting of the events.
Gallery
Map
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Address
Vinnbrück 4
47906 Kempen
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Sources & links
- openstreetmap.org (retrieved 2026-07-06)
- Wikipedia (retrieved 2026-07-08)
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-07-08
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