Dattenberg Castle, which was probably built in the first half of the 13th century by the family who gave it its name, had already fallen into ruin in the 19th century. The Archbishopric of Cologne acquired the complex between the years 1306 and 1331 and enfeoffed it from then on to alternating noble families. This is how the electorate consolidated its position on the Middle Rhine, as nearby Linz formed the second most important command centre of Cologne, after Andernach, in the South. The complex’s mediaeval bergfried has been preserved up to today and can be visited from the outside to a limited extent.