Vlassrath Castle

Haus Vlassrath, less commonly known as Vlassrath Castle and formerly often spelled Vlaesrath, is a Lower Rhenish manor house in the municipality of Straelen. It stands on the left bank of the Niers, almost within sight of Haus Eyll, about one kilometer north of it. The estate dates back to a medieval knight's seat, which was rebuilt at the beginning of the 17th century after a fire. Haus Vlassrath can be seen from a distance, but is not open to visitors.

When exactly Haus Vlassrath was founded is still unknown, but a mill existed nearby in the first half of the 14th century, which was owned by the Kleve bailiff Wolter von Wossum and suggests the existence of a fortified knight's seat for that period. Wolter's daughter Sophia married the Cologne bailiff of Liedberg, Engelbert von Orsbeck. In 1390, the couple issued a document stating that they did not intend to harm the Duke of Geldern with their house and outer bailey at Vlassrath ("huse ende vorgeborghte to Vlasroten"). The house mentioned in the document had probably only been completed shortly before.

From 1432, Haus Vlassrath was a Guelders fief, firmly connected with the Straelen office. In 1441, Engelbert von Brempt became the new owner of the estate and was enfeoffed as such, but at that time the widow Sophia von Wossum held the usufruct. Sophia's daughter had probably married Engelbert von Brempt before and brought the property into the marriage. After the death of his first wife, the new owner entered into a second marriage with Aleid Schenk von Nideggen and granted her Vlassrath as a dower in 1460. From Engelbert, the house passed in 1473 first to his son of the same name, Engelbert II, and from him in May 1505 to Evert von Brempt. After his death, Evert's still underage son Jost was enfeoffed with Vlassrath in 1544, while Evert's widow received a usufruct. Jost renounced the estate in favor of his younger brother Engelbert (III), who received the enfeoffment in June 1556. Engelbert's sons succeeded their father as feudal lords, first Wilhelm in 1585 and after his death, Johann von Brempt.

This Johann, together with his wife Johanna von Berg(h)e zu Trips, had Haus Vlassrath, which had burned down before 1607 along with its courtyard and mill, rebuilt by 1612, thus giving it essentially its present appearance. The von Brempt family resided at the newly built knight's seat until 1642, when they died out with the only 14-year-old Wilhelm on March 4 of that year at Vlassrath. Wilhelm's mother Irmgard von Blittersdorf had married Baron Johann Arnold von Wachtendonk in a second marriage and thus brought the property to him after her son's early death. In the following years, Vlassrath was partly in the hands of several families simultaneously, until Isabella Ricard, widow of Philipp Franz von Varo at Haus Caen, redeemed a debt of 6900 Patagon lying on Vlassrath in 1713, thus becoming at least a co-owner, if not the sole owner. She bequeathed the small complex to her son Alexander Ferdinand Philipp, who was enfeoffed with it by the Prussian King Frederick William on October 12, 1718.

The new owner sold it in 1721 to Isabella Maria von Romer, so that in 1722 her still underage son Johann Jakob Reiner was enfeoffed with Vlassrath. After his death, it probably passed to his sister Johanna Adriana, who had married Arnold Carl Philipp August von Varo a month earlier. The couple resided at the nearby Haus Caen, and Vlassrath was henceforth only inhabited and managed by tenants.

Since 2006, the manor house has been the residence of a member of the Geyr von Schweppenburg family, who had it extensively restored from 1999 to 2006. Two rooms in the main house and a suite are available to guests as guest rooms for overnight stays.