Beverfoerder Palace

The Beverfoerder Hof, or Hof der Freiherrn von Elverfeld genannt von Beverförde-Werries, was a noble palace in Münster and is considered the prime example of an early Baroque noble building. Several courtyards built subsequently were oriented towards its French or Dutch-inspired three-winged construction. Today, a bank is housed in the remaining building at Königsstraße 46.

Originally, the Davensberger Hof stood on this site. The noble court was built from 1699 to 1702 by Gottfried Laurenz Pictorius for Bernhard Engelbert Christian von Beverförde-Werries. The French-style city palace has a horseshoe-shaped floor plan and opens towards the street, separated by a wall with a high iron gate. The central brick building rises two stories high, a flat central risalit is framed by four Ionic pilasters and finally topped with a flat triangular gable, which bears the coat of arms of Beverfoerde and Neuhoff, crowned with the baronial crown, on its front. Below it is the motto of the Beverfoerde, as also seen on the ancestral home Schloss Loburg, which according to Ellipse is: Deus Adiutor et Protector meus, i.e., God, my helper and protector. The entire complex, its architectural and decorative forms, following French rules, are axially symmetrical. On October 10, 1943, the building was severely damaged in an air raid and only partially rebuilt after the war.