Weitmar Manor

Haus Weitmar is a former noble residence in the Bochum-Weitmar district of Bochum. The seat of the von Berswordt-Wallrabe family, as well as the Sylvester Chapel on the grounds, were destroyed by aerial bombs during the Second World War. Today, part of the grounds is accessible to the public.

Haus Weitmar in Bochum developed from an 11th-century farmstead into a knight's seat when, in 1464, the bailiff Wennemar von der Brüggeney, also known as Hasenkamp, built a new residential house. In this year, Haus Weitmar was first mentioned in a document. The von Galen family had renounced their rights to the estate. In 1481, the abbot of Werden enfeoffed Wennemar von Hasenkamp with the office of forest judge of the Weitmarer Mark and the Bisping estate, which also belonged to the Werden Abbey.

A new two-story house made of Ruhr sandstone, surrounded by a moat fed by the Linnebecke (Lindener Bach), was built in 1592 by Johann von Hasenkamp. After 300 years of ownership, this lineage at Haus Weitmar died out in 1765 with the death of the last, unmarried Johann von Hasenkamp. The Werden monastery took over the castle and estates. Around 1775, Friedrich Goswin von Vaerst acquired the estate, bought himself free from the still existing feudal lordship of the Werden Abbey, and sold the property in 1780 to Friedrich von Berswordt-Wallrabe.

The Sylvester Chapel north of the castle is first mentioned in documents in 1397. In 1890, the Protestant parish sold the church property with the church ruin to Ludwig von Berswordt.

During an air raid on May 13, 1943, in the Second World War, Haus Weitmar was hit by bombs. A stable and residential building from the late 19th century was demolished in 1968. Only the outer walls of the castle and chapel remained. The complex remained in family ownership. In 1968, Alexander von Berswordt founded the Galerie m Bochum in the adjacent area of the castle. The park with its old trees and ruins was leased by the city of Bochum in 1974 and made accessible to the public.

Until 2000, the oldest tree in Bochum stood here, a dwarf beech planted in 1740, until it broke apart due to arson. The tree died in the following years.

In September 2005, Haus Weitmar and the Sylvester Chapel had to be surrounded by construction fences. The ruins are heavily overgrown with birches and yews, whose roots are bursting the masonry. A large stone fell from the chapel tower directly in front of the grave slabs.

In May 2010, the Kubus was completed, an exhibition building amidst the outer walls of the ruin for the Situation Kunst, according to the plans of the architects Pfeiffer, Ellermann and Preckel from Münster.

Every summer, the students of the respective second class of the Bochum Drama School perform in the Weitmar Castle Park. Traditionally, a play or scenes by Shakespeare are shown. Admission is free and is always well attended by the people of Bochum.

The route of the Hasenwinkeler Kohlenweg passes by the park to Dahlhausen station, a walking and cycling path that leads to Bochum-Dahlhausen and the Ruhr.