Nierenhof Manor

The Nierenhof estate is located in the Velbert district of Nierenhof, which formerly belonged to Westphalia. It was once known as "Rittergut Nederhofe". Gut Nierenhof, after which an entire district is named today, is located at the crossing of the prehistoric trade route Hilinciweg (mentioned in a document in 875 as the boundary of the Werden tithe district) over the Deilbach. The Deilbach is the historical border between Franks and Saxons, until 1354 between the Lordship of Hardenberg and the County of Mark, later between the Duchy of Berg and Prussia, and to this day between the Rhineland and Westphalia. Since the trade route was of considerable importance, the Isenburg, once the largest hilltop castle in Westphalia, was built at the "Cologne Ford" over the Ruhr. It is probable that the Deilbach crossing was also controlled by a knight's seat. The confluence of the Deilbach, Heiersberger Bach, and Felderbach with their wide fertile valleys also appears favorable for the construction of a fortified house. While the streams were used for the construction of various mills, Nierenhof developed into a traffic hub up to the present day. Even in the "Topographical Charte der Grafschaft Marck von 1777", Nierenhof is marked as "a noble estate".

Not far from the knight's seat on the Hattingen Homberg, in Nierenhof (since 1971 a district of Langenberg, today Velbert) lay the noble seat of the von Nederhove family. Until the extinction of the lineage in the 15th century, the Lords of Nederhove were Isenberg-Limburg ministerials. Their residence was on the southwestern spur of the Isenberg. In 1172, Hellwich v. Nederhove was a ministerial of the church in Cologne. Later, the name Slugh auf dem Nederhove appears. In 1360, Gudeke Slugh von Nederhove was enfeoffed by Count Dietrich. Bearers of the same name also held the office of judge in Hattingen in the 15th century. In 1757, the merchant Johann Peter Bachmann from Langenberg bought the land belonging to the estate and erected extensive residential and commercial buildings on it along the main road.