Heessen Castle

The first mention of Heessen, then as “Hesnon,” appears in a document from Emperor Otto II in 975, where it is referred to as the hereditary property of the Bishop of Osnabrück. Around 1200, the estate came into the possession of the Counts of Altena-Isenberg through the marriage of Countess Mathilde to Count Arnold of Altena. Following the murder of Archbishop Engelbert I of Cologne by Frederick of Isenberg, Arnold's son, the protracted Isenberg Feud ensued. The Peace of 1243 awarded the “curtis hesne” to the House of Limburg. The Counts of Limburg did not use the court themselves but enfeoffed their ministerials with it, initially the von Rinkerode family. In the early 14th century, the inheritance passed to Dietrich von Volmerstein. His grandchildren built a new moated castle after 1350, better protected by the Lippe river. After the death of Johannes II von Volmerstein in 1429, Heessen fell to his sister Agnes, who was married to Godert von der Recke zu Heeren. Their son Dietrich von der Recke was enfeoffed with the lands in 1437, establishing a ten-generation rule by the von der Recke family. He had a new manor house built, while his descendant Jobst von der Recke renovated the outer bailey between 1590 and 1600.