The Philippenhaus was formerly known as 'Haus Merols'. For 300 years, it was in the possession of the von Hagen family, as indicated by the other name by which it was known: 'Hagenshof'. The country house was given the appearance it has today in 1767. Prior to that, the castle on the water, Haus Merols, had stood in the same place. Haus Merols, and Merols Castle (the Waldenburghaus today), just a stone's throw away, were fiefs from Aachen's Church of the Virgin Mary. At the beginning of the 19th century the Aachen businessman Johann Joseph Philipp acquired the estate, which explains the name by which it is known now: Philippenhaus. In the interior, there is still a family altar to this day. As for the original water-built castle, only a few vestiges of the moats have remained on the north-west side of the house. Today, the Philippenhaus and the adjacent buildings are home to an agricultural business.
