Füchten Castle

The origins of Haus Füchten date back to 1298, when a castle located there was first granted as a fief to the knight Goswin von Soest. Around 1700, Caspar Diedrich von Droste zu Erwitte had the old castle demolished and a new manor house built on a hillside. An extension of the building with a chapel wing took place in 1726. In 1834, Josef Caspar von Mellin acquired the estate. After his death and that of his wife Sophie von Fürstenberg, the Mellin Foundation was established in 1860, setting up an agricultural school for needy boys and orphans within the premises. However, this school had to close in 1903 due to poor transport links. In the mid-1980s, the foundation sold the estate to a private individual. The construction of the A 445 motorway in 1987 led to the severance of parts of the property.