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Castle Zelem (a.k.a. Selhem, Selem or Zelm) was a knight domicile located in the lowland areas left of the Rhine River between the villages Mehr and Niel.
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History
Zelem was mentioned for the first time in the 12th century as a property of Abbey Echternach. In the first half of the 14th Century, Zelem belonged to Kranenburg County but was sold in 1348 to the lords of Groesbeek. In the 15th Century, the family Palant-Wylich became the owners of the aristocratic estate in whose hands it remained for centuries. Zelem Castle is privately owned and can, therefore, only be viewed from the outside.
Architectural History
The castle‘s basic fabric comes mainly from the first half of the 15th Century. In the middle of the 16th Century, it was rebuilt in renaissance style. The former three-story building comprises two corner towers which were formerly provided with canopies of which one of them was trimmed with a frieze with sandstone ornaments, mythical creatures, human heads, and a stair tower. The renaissance portal is adorned with the emblem of the Family Palant and the date 1464. Inside the house is a barrel-vault basement, a tower room with star vault, and a fireplace from the renaissance. By 1800, the basic structure had been significantly reduced, and the fortification, except for the main wing, was dismantled.