Darup Manor

Haus Darup is a manor house in the Darup district of the municipality of Nottuln, Coesfeld district, North Rhine-Westphalia.

The core of the current Haus Darup complex dates back to the High Middle Ages. The manor house has been rebuilt and extended several times. The property, originally surrounded on four sides by a moat, is still enclosed by a moat on three sides today.

It was owned by, among others, the von Droste zu Darup, von Raesfeld, von Galen and von Plettenberg families, before it came into the possession of the Barons von Bönninghausen in 1714 through the marriage of General Caspar Lothar Diethrich von Bönninghausen to the widow of Ernst Viktor von Plettenberg. This family remained owners of Haus Darup for 215 years.

From 1909 to 1912, the extensive farm buildings, which are still preserved today, were erected according to the plans of government architect Köthen. In 1929, in economically difficult times, it fell to the manufacturer Bernhard Frisch from Ennigerloh, who lived there with his family as a weekend and summer residence.

Among the owners, Clemens Maria Franz von Bönninghausen stands out. As the first district administrator of the Coesfeld district in 1816, he established the young district administration with two employees (a district messenger and a district copyist, i.e. a secretary) at Haus Darup. Bönninghausen was interested in many things and is considered one of the co-founders of homeopathy. He was the family doctor of Annette von Droste-Hülshoff and produced significant works as a botanist and economist.

In 1939, the house changed owners again and was acquired by the married couple Theodor and Elisabeth Struwe, née Grote, from Warburg-Hohenwepel. The house is still owned by their descendants today. It is registered as a monument in the list of monuments of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.