Vornholz Castle

Haus Vornholz is a listed secular building in Ostenfelde, a district of Ennigerloh in the Warendorf district (North Rhine-Westphalia).

The extensive complex on two islands, partly with a defensive character, is surrounded by double moats and a rampart. A park area is located on the back. The complex was first mentioned in a document in 1172. After a fire, the main house was rebuilt in 1666 for Dietrich Hermann von Nagel by Peter Pictorius and subsequently altered several times. Modernizations were carried out in 1841. The side wings, using older parts, are probably somewhat younger. The northern chapel wing was altered in 1841. The north wing is marked 1799 on the inside at the western end.

The former core castle is a three-wing complex made of plastered quarry stone. In the middle stands the simple, two-story main house with eight axes and a towering hipped roof. The portal with the alliance coat of arms of the von Galen and von Nagel families is accessed by a two-sided staircase. Inside, a two-sided staircase also dominates; it was installed in the 19th century. A period beam ceiling is installed in the dining room. The parquet floor is marked 1841. The chapel stands on the north side; it contains a high-quality carved crucifix from the first half of the 18th century. The original polychromy is lost. The apostle figures from the end of the 17th century are polychromed. The outer bailey and main island are connected on the north side by a brick water weir. It serves to dam the moats. In the middle there is a cylindrical obstacle, the so-called "Dame". Outside the moat system are elongated stables, which were probably secondarily marked 1780; they were extended several times to the east in the 19th century. The Rentamt (steward's office) is a single-story, plastered brick building under a hipped roof. It stands on a cellar plinth and was built at the end of the 18th century.