The Counts of Formbach built the original Romanesque-Gothic castle in the 12th century. Swedish forces blew up three or four parts of it in 1645. Count Johann Nepomuk Wilczek began the reconstruction in 1874, funded by income from his family's Silesian coal mines. Carl Gangolf Kayser oversaw it until his death in 1895, and Humbert Walcher von Molthein and Egon Rheinberger then took over. The work took about 30 years, with Kaiser Wilhelm II at the reopening on June 6, 1906.
The rebuilt castle uses surviving medieval masonry, including parts of the outer wall, the east tower and the chapel. Medieval components were bought from across Europe. A fire in 1915 burned part of the archive and library wing.
Count Johan-Christian Wilczek owns it. It is a museum, and a falconry show runs from April to October.
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