Bilkrath Manor

Haus Bilkrath is a medieval fortified house on the Anger at Heltorfer Schlossallee 24 in the Angermund district of Düsseldorf, i.e., only a few hundred meters south of Heltorf Castle.

Bilkrath appears as Pelichrade as early as 1332, as Peylcheroyde in 1402, and as Peillichrade in 1407. The ending -rath, -royde, or -rade indicates that the house was built on cleared land. The name stem is traced back to the personal name Billig.

From the 1402 document, it is evident that towards the end of the 14th century, the Lords of Kalkum were the owners of Bilkrath. A Johann von Caelchem von Peylcheroyde, executed by the city of Cologne long ago in 1402, is mentioned. Previously, in 1312, Johann's great-grandfather Hermann von Kalkum, bailiff of Angermund, is said to have resided at Bilkrath. After the Lords of Kalkum, the former moated castle was long in the possession of the Quadt family.

In 1559, Bilkrath was surveyed by the Uerdingen citizen Hermann Brinck. The entire property comprised 156 acres of land. The main field was in the large field near the farm. Other lands were located on Kalkstraße, Kirchweg, next to Kalkum church land, and Dickenbusch.

In 1596, Konrad Quadt sold the estate for 5,000 Cologne thalers (each reckoned at 52 Cologne albus) to Wilhelm von Scheid, also known as Weschpfennig zu Heltorf, Count Palatine and bailiff of the Solingen and Burg districts, and the Beyenburg district. Since then, Bilkrath has had the same owners as Heltorf, i.e., after the Lords von Scheidt, also known as Weschpfennig, to this day the Lords/Counts von Spee.

In recent centuries, Bilkrath has been leased out, with only short interruptions. In 1766, Bilkrath went to Johann Peter Thielen for twelve years, and in 1778, also for 12 years, to the married couple Heligerus Hundgeburth and Maria Katharina Schmitz. In 1791, the lease for the couple was extended for another 12 years. The Hundgeburth descendants managed the farm until 1932. After that, the Klünter family lived on the farm. Today, the Köppel family operates an equestrian center at Bilkrath with 30 horse stalls, two outdoor riding arenas, and an exercise hall.