Schwarzenraben Castle

Schloss Schwarzenraben is a Baroque moated castle near Lippstadt-Bökenförde. It was presumably built by the Barons von Hoerde (noble family) between 1765 and 1768 according to plans by Franz Christoph Nagel and Johann Matthias Kitz. Elector Klemens August at least co-financed the construction, allegedly as compensation for an injury he had inflicted on the builder during a hunt.

Until the 16th century, the place with its fortifications was called "Wambeke" and belonged to the municipality of Bökenförde. Wambeke was first mentioned in 1031. Half of the area was sold to the Barons von Hörde in 1511, and entirely by 1584. For the new building by architect Johann Matthias Kitz from Arolsen, Italian stucco artists were hired for the rich stucco work. Particularly worth seeing are both the Rococo-style castle chapel with the altar by Anton Joseph Stratmann and the park with its orangery.

Friedrich Clemens von Ketteler (the "Old Fritz") had married Marie Kunigunde von der Decken (noble family), the heiress of the Hörde estates Schwarzenraben and Eringerfeld, in 1863 and settled in Eringerfeld around 1870. In 1898, Clemens received a kick to the forehead while holding a horse that was being treated by the veterinarian. This untreated skull fracture led to brain damage. His eldest son and heir Wilderich had married in 1894 and was now living with his wife Paula, née Oer (noble family), in Schloss Harkotten. When Clemens' condition worsened at the end of 1899, his wife Marie Kunigunde asked her eldest son Wilderich to return. Therefore, Wilderich and Maria Rosa Ketteler moved to Schwarzenraben. However, the castle had not been inhabited since the inheritance, which is why Wilderich and his wife Maria Rosa first had to restore it. Therefore, the castle was only inhabited again from 1902.

A forgotten iron caused a devastating fire on April 23, 1935. In the fire, a firefighter and a forester suffered fatal injuries while attempting to salvage a valuable chandelier from the burning building. Their bodies were recovered only 24 hours later. Due to this fire, fire safety regulations for castles were reviewed and improved nationwide. After the fire, it was rebuilt by Wilderich Freiherr von Ketteler (son of the above residents). His eldest son Karl-Josef Freiherr von Ketteler was born there in 1934.

Since 1998, the castle has been owned by Otto W. Drosihn.