Lembeck Castle

The Baroque castle complex is symmetrically aligned along a 500-meter long east-west axis. From the east, a 200-meter long avenue leads to the formerly three-winged outer bailey. The two-winged construction of the outer bailey, whose renovation was completed in 1692, presents a simple, single-story facade, interrupted by a two-story gatehouse made of sandstone. This gatehouse, accessible via two bridges, bears the coats of arms of Dietrich Conrad Adolf von Westerholt zu Lembeck and Marie Theodora von Waldbott-Bassenheim-Gudenau above the gate passage. The corner towers of the southern wing feature keyhole embrasures in the cellar and a gun slit in the southeast tower. The three-story main house, originally planned as a three-winged complex, was only realized with two wings due to financial reasons. The east wing, with its two pavilion towers, was completed in 1679. The older north wing was renovated between 1674 and 1679. The portal of the main house, more elaborately designed than that of the outer bailey, displays the alliance coat of arms of Burchardt von Westerholt zu Lembeck and Clara von der Recke. The passage hall behind it is inspired by Italian Renaissance models. A wide outdoor staircase leads from the inner courtyard to a 19th-century terrace, from which the current entrance portal is accessible. All corner towers of the main house are topped with Welsch hoods and pear-shaped gun slits. The neo-Gothic chapel tower at the northwest corner of the main house is the most frequently altered part of the castle; its cellar once served as a prison and now as a wine cellar. The chapel itself was first mentioned in 1363 and has been documented in the tower since 1737. The interior rooms of the main house on the raised ground floor follow the French cabinet system in enfilade, although the passages are not exactly aligned.