It was the lords of Leyen who probably erected the core complex in Linz am Rhein in the first half of the 13th century. In the course of the Cologne Diocesan Feud, the Castle was severely damaged in 1475 but then restored shortly afterwards. During the Thirty Years’ War, Ockenfels Castle was finally completely destroyed. From then on, stone thieves carried off the ruins right down to the base walls. It was only between 1924 and 1927 that something sensible was begun again with the remains, as the Cellitinnen of the Holy Mary in Kupfergasse in Cologne came upstream from the Rhine and erected a residential and commercial building on the mediaeval fragments. Since 1998, Ockenfels Castle has been the administrative headquarters of a shoe company. Up to today, it is questionable what the original design was, as the rebuild of the Castle plot in the 1920s as well as insufficient research on the mediaeval remains do not allow clear conclusions.