Fürstenberg Castle (Höingen)

Fürstenberg Castle is the ruin of a 1295 fortification built by the Archbishopric of Cologne to assert territorial control over eastern Westphalia along the Ruhr valley — part of a network of so-called Landesburgen that anchored Cologne's influence far beyond its city walls. The castle sits on a ridge above the Ruhr between Neheim-Bergheim and the small village of Höingen in Kreis Soest, its surviving masonry now woven into dense hillside woodland. The site sees little formal tourism infrastructure, making it a quiet find for hikers exploring the Ruhr valley slopes.