The image of the Eifel town of Blankenheim is characterised above all by the imposing Blankenheim Castle high above the town centre. It was built at the beginning of the 13th century by Gerhard III as a medieval castle and rebuilt in the 15th century by Gerhardt VIII as a baroque castle. After the Counts of Blankenheim, the Counts of Manderscheid resided here. They equipped Blankenheim Castle with its own water supply – a long-distance pipeline, the so-called “In der Rhenn”, which replaced the old cistern. Part of the water supply was the so-called Tiergarten tunnel and the water house on the south side of the Tiergarten. Today, Blankenheim Castle is used as a youth hostel and can also be visited.
