Quernheim Manor (Stift Quernheim)

Right next to the collegiate church stands the Abbess's House from 1676, known as the "Herrenhaus" (Manor House). It was initially built as a residence for about 30 prioresses of the Quernheim convent. The convent was dissolved in 1810 during secularization and initially continued as a Prussian state domain. In 1832, the Prussians sold it to Kommissionsrat Conrad Wilhelm Delius of Minden, and Delius handed the Herrenhaus over to his son-in-law, Major (ret.) Wilhelm Bacmeister of Grapenstein (1791–1874). He lived in the building until 1861 and had it extended by 6.5 m in 1837. In 1861, due to Bacmeister's financial difficulties, it was sold to the cigar manufacturer Steinmeister & Wellensiek, who further extended the house and set up a cigar factory. It was used until 1971 and was on the verge of demolition in 1976. Since 1993, the Ravensberg Biological Station in the district of Herford has been located in the Herrenhaus. Since 1998, weddings have also been performed in a room with a historic ceiling painting.