Castel Nordkirchen or Schloss Nordkirchen is a palace in the municipality Nordkirchen in the Coesfeld administrative district in North Rhine Westphalia. The castle was largely built between 1703 and 1734 and is known as the “Versailles of Westphalia” since it is the largest of the region’s fully or partly moated castles. It was originally one of the residences of the Prince-Bishop of Münster.
This magnificent baroque castle, which is located in the picturesque North Rhine-Westphalia area, is a genuine work of art and a significant piece of European history.
Nordkirchen Castle has long captivated the attention of tourists with its magnificent gardens, breathtaking architecture, and rich cultural legacy.
We will travel to Nordkirchen Castle to investigate its majesty and importance. From the von Morrien family’s ownership of a medieval stronghold to the von Plettenberg family’s ownership of an opulent mansion.
The original structure of the current castle was a moated castle owned by the Morrien family. At the beginning of the 16th century, Gerhard III. von Morrien had it extended into one of the most highly fortified moated castles in Münsterland. The complex was sold by the heirs to Friedrich Christian von Plettenberg, the prince-bishop of Münster, in 1694 after the male line of the family had passed away. His family commissioned the remodelling of the castle into a representative, baroque home in the 18th century, which took more than 30 years to complete. The Nordkirchen palace garden was among the most renowned gardens in Europe when it was finished in 1734. Ferdinand von Plettenberg, the castle’s lord, passed away in 1737, leaving behind a heavily indebted estate that was difficult for succeeding generations to preserve. Ownership of the property was transferred from Maria von Plettenberg, the heiress, to her son Miklós Esterházy de Galántha in 1813, the year the male line of the von Plettenberg family passed away. He ordered renovations to the house’s interior and garden.
His Hungarian kin sold the property to Duke Engelbert-Maria of Arenberg after his passing. He expanded the main building in addition to renovating and modernizing the now-decrepit buildings. Additionally, he had a portion of the vast palace garden expanded and renovated. The palace complex deteriorated over time after the ducal family stopped residing there following the end of World War II.
The state of North Rhine-Westphalia rented the castle in 1949 and, following initial renovations, began operating its state finance school in the now-in-danger-of-collapsing castle facilities in 1950. The state purchased the palace island in 1958, together with the main structure and a portion of the palace park, and started a protracted restoration effort that was completed in 1991 with the restoration of the baroque Venus Island to the north of the palace. In particular, 1970–1971 saw the construction of extension buildings for the university of applied sciences near the castle park.
Most recently, in 2004, North Rhine-Westphalia also acquired the Tiergarten forest area, with a total of more than 1,000 hectares of forest lands, which borders the Westgarten to the south. The state currently owns a good 70 hectares of Castle Park in total.
Gerhard III. von Morrien
The original structure of the current castle was a moated castle owned by the Morrien family. At the beginning of the 16th century, Gerhard III. von Morrien had it expanded into one of the most heavily fortified moated castles in Münsterland.
Plettenberg Coat of arms
After the male line of the family had died out, the castle was sold by the heirs to Friedrich Christian von Plettenberg, the prince-bishop of Münster.
Miklós Esterházy de Galántha
As favorite son ownership of the land was transferred from Maria von Plettenberg, the heiress, to her son Miklós Esterházy de Galántha in 1813, the year the male line of the von Plettenberg family passed away.
Arenberg family Coat of arms
Engelbert Maria von Arenberg, German nobleman and 9th Duke of the House of Arenberg, buys Nordkirchen Castle in 1903.
After the death of his father, Engelbert Karl von Arenberg inherits the manor and rents it to the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In April 1958, the state bought the palace island together with the buildings located there and the eastern part of the park. However, the western part of the courtyard remained with Haus Arenberg. In the period from 1958 to 2004, North Rhine-Westphalia purchased all 70 hectares of land.
The state of North Rhine Westphalia becomes the owner of the entire estate of Nordkirchen Castle.
Folklore in the area claims that the castle is haunted by the spirit of a young lady wearing white clothing. She is thought to be the ghost of a young noblewoman who fell in love and tried to run off with a stable worker. Her father learned of their intentions, however, and stopped them, which led to the young woman’s sad death. Numerous reports of the White Lady over the years claim that she is still rumored to be wandering the hallways of Nordkirchen Castle.
LEFT: Friedrich Christian Freiherr von Plettenberg-Lenhausen (1644 – 1706) was the Prince Bishop of Münster. After the death of the von Morrien male line, the heirs sold Nordkirchen Castle to Friedrich von Plettenberg.
RIGHT: Portrait of Ferdinand von Plettenberg with family. In 1711, after the death of his uncle, father, and brother, Ferdinand von Plettenberg (1690 – 1737) became the sole owner of the entire private property of Nordkirchen. Under his ownership, Nordkirchen Palace with gardens becomes one of the most famous in Europe.
Castle with its glorious park is declared under protection by UNESCO as a “complete work of art of international standing”. The garden front gives onto a landscaped park of some 170 hectares.
In castle is settled North Rhine-Westphalia University of Applied Sciences for Finance or “Fachhochschule für Finanzen Nordrhein-Westfalen”, a state-run college specializing in the training of future tax inspectors.
Inside the castle is a restaurant which is offering Westphalian cuisine. The restaurant view is on the large formal garden.
Wedding ceremonies may be held in the castle chapel.
The castle offers guided tours that include visits to some of its public sections. In 1988, 50,000 guests utilized this possibility. The general public may also visit the palace gardens.
Throughout the year, the castle and its courtyard are used for various exhibitions, workshops, seminars
The castle buildings are surrounded by a 172 – hectare castle park, which is an anchor garden of the “Münsterland Garden Route” of the European Garden Heritage Network. In 1994, he served as a backdrop for some scenes in the film Not With Leo. Around 70 hectares of the park, including around 20 acres of water, are owned by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and are open to the public. The Nordkirchen Palace Park has around 50,000 visitors a year. It has 23 avenues with a total length of 7.5 kilometers. The horse chestnuts, lime trees, beech trees, maples, and plane trees along these avenues are often from the first plantings in the 18th century, but in many places have been in poor condition for decades and need to be replaced. This is now made possible by the “Wedding Trees” project, in which couples who get married in the castle donate a tree and replace old, ailing trees twice a year in a joint planting campaign. The castle park is a habitat for numerous wild animals, including hares, partridges, pheasants, mallards, herons, cuckoos, and nightingales.
Less than 10 km east of Nordkirchen is another castle. Westerwinkel Castle is a baroque-moated castle in the Ascheberg district of Herbert. It houses a museum that can be visited by appointment.
8 km west of Nordkirchen Castle is the town of Lüdinghausen, founded in the 13th century. Lüdinghausen has 2 preserved castles and one ruin. The town of Lüdinghausen includes the village of Seppenrade, where the ammonite Parapuzosia seppenradensis was found in 1895.
Parapuzosia seppenradensis is a species of extinct cephalopod mollusk, specifically an ammonite, and lived during the Late Cretaceous period around 70 million years ago. Westphalian Museum of Natural History in Münster holds the original fossil.
One Response
Test