Nehlen Castle (Berwicke)

Haus Nehlen is located in Lippetal in Berwicke, a district of the municipality of Welver in the Soest district. It was originally a moated castle. In the 17th century, the complex was converted into a castle in the style of the Lippe Renaissance.

Haus Nehlen was first mentioned in a document in 1268. The castle probably served to protect the northern border of the County of Rüdenberg. It was initially the ancestral seat of the noble family von Nehlen (also Nele, Neylen, Nelen or Neilen). In 1350, the property came into the possession of a branch of the von Plettenberg family.

The builder of the still existing complex was the Dean of Paderborn and Münster, Dietrich von Plettenberg (1550–1634). He had it built for his nephew Wolter Heinrich von Plettenberg. The executing architect was the stonemason Dietrich Gerlinckhaus from Dortmund.

Since the end of the 17th century, Haus Nehlen was owned by the von Boeselager family. In the 1770s, the family moved their main residence to Hölleinghofen Castle. Haus Nehlen has since been managed by tenants and administrators. In 1977, the property passed to a farmer who still manages the land around Haus Nehlen today.

Today, a family lives in the left half of the house, and the sculptor Egbert Broerken lives and works in the Renaissance moated castle.