Linn Castle (Krefeld)

Around 1740, Elector Clemens August had the bailiwick of Linn Castle converted into a hunting lodge. However, Clemens August very rarely stayed there. At the end of the 18th century, it was inhabited by the Linn chief cellarer von Otten.

In electoral possession since the 12th century, the castle, along with the hunting lodge, the historic tithe barn, and the extensive surrounding land, was acquired in 1806 by the Krefeld silk manufacturer Isaak de Greiff. Isaak de Greiff used the castle as a summer residence and as a hunting lodge during the winter months. One of his sons, Johann Philipp de Greiff, inherited the estate and soon after settled there with his family. His daughter Marianne Rhodius, née de Greiff, grew up there with her sister Emma and lived in the hunting lodge herself until her death in 1902. Marianne Rhodius was a niece of Cornelius de Greiff, to whom she owed most of her fortune.

As co-heir and co-administrator of Marianne Rhodius's estate, Justice Councillor Gustav Schelleckes moved into the hunting lodge at Linn Castle after the First World War. In 1924, he then sold the castle ruins, along with the hunting lodge and all other associated properties, to the city of Krefeld for 506,000 Marks. However, he himself continued to live in the hunting lodge until his death in 1928.

The purchase of the properties by the city of Krefeld fell within the term of office of the then mayor, Dr. Johannes Johansen, who was very committed to the acquisition.

Linn Castle was renovated until 1926 and expanded into a state museum. In 1930, the hunting lodge was added.

Today, the hunting lodge houses several furnished Krefeld bourgeois rooms from the 18th and 19th centuries. A fully furnished Lower Rhenish farmhouse kitchen and a collection of mechanical historical musical instruments, which are demonstrated every Sunday, complement the museum's offerings.

The castle and hunting lodge, together with the Lower Rhenish Landscape Museum located in the immediate vicinity of the castle, form the Linn Castle Museum Center.