Linnep Castle

Linnep Castle, usually called Haus Linnep, is a moated castle south-southeast of the Ratingen district of Breitscheid in the Mettmann district of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The knight's seat is already mentioned in a document from Kaiserswerth Abbey in the 11th century. The construction style of the old parts points to the 12th century. In 1769, a new building was erected on the site of the old castle, into which the round tower, probably 1000 years old, with its pointed roof and the ring wall from the old complex were integrated. Further additions were made after 1855. The very compact complex is surrounded by a large moat, through which the small Hummelsbach flows. Access to the castle today is via a sprawling staircase over the moat. The courtyard in front is fortified as an outer bailey and consists of a gatehouse with outbuildings.

Southwest of the castle is the simple hall building of the Linnep Forest Church, consecrated in 1684, one of the oldest reformed church new builds in the Rhineland. Next to it is the half-timbered building of the former castle mill, which was built on the Hummelsbach, was a long-standing inn and is now part of the riding stable behind it.

Haus Linnep (or Lennep) was the core of the Lordship of Linnep until 1802. The knights and lords of Linnep (Linepe, Lynepe) lived in the castle until 1461. Through the marriage of Eva (born around 1420; died 1483), heiress of Dietrich von Linnep and Elisabeth von Sayn, and Friedrich von Neuenahr-Alpen, which took place on September 29, 1461, the lordship passed to the Counts of Limburg. From 1582, the baronial family von Isselstein, who belonged to the Reformed confession, inhabited Haus Linnep, initially as a pledge, then from 1643 by hereditary purchase.

In the course of the Reformation, the Protestant Christians in Linnep gathered in the castle, the residence of their patron, until 1684. From 1684, the first services could be celebrated in their own church on a plot of land near the castle, which the then lord of the castle, Baron Vincent Schott von Isselstein, donated to the community.

From 1731, frequent changes of ownership occurred. In 1855, the castle was bought by Ferdinand Reichsgraf von Spee, younger brother of the Count at Heltorf Castle, and the associated forest area was enlarged to over 300 hectares. Until the 1990s, the archive of the Mettmann district was located in the newest castle wing. The castle was the private residence of the farmer and long-time CDU local politician Clemens Graf von Spee (1929-2011) and his family. In 2008, Isabella and Wilderich Freiherr von Ketteler took over the operation. Since 2010, it has been possible to hold civil weddings at Linnep Castle. Linnep Castle cannot be visited.