Westerwinkel Castle

The idyllic, natural location of the castle, which is quite a distance from human settlement, prompted the author of the information sheet at the castle entrance to write the following poetic lines:

The special quality of this castle does not lie in an eventful past or a fascinating building history. Rather, it differs from all other castles more through its own character. It is reserved, like the inhabitants of this region; it hides in the high forests and in the meadows and fields enclosed by hedges; it seems much more to want to remain alone, hidden from every stranger, content with itself and its small world. This Sleeping Beauty castle was built in the midst of an English garden. It is a complex of moats, whose origin is to be sought in the early Baroque style, and whose principles correspond to the moats of medieval castles. At the time of construction, the moats were dug, but not for defensive purposes (for this system of defense was already outdated at the time), but with an architectural objective that is representative of the Baroque style. The entire complex extends over two rectangular islands; the buildings are on the eastern island, and the garden is on the western island.

Westerwinkel Castle is located about 1 km west of Herbern in the middle of a spacious landscape designed in the style of an English landscape park, which today is partly destroyed by inadequate maintenance and the installation of a golf course. It is built as a water complex and enclosed by a multiple, rectangular moat system. Overall, the nested access and the fortified structures convey the impression of a defensive complex from earlier centuries. To the west, the garden island adjoins. Inside the old vegetable garden is a two-story Baroque pavilion, built by Johann Conrad Schlaun, which has been left to decay for years. The now natural castle garden, which provides a home for numerous native animal and plant species, was laid out as an English garden in the last century. It has a stock of rare trees, including a 600-year-old lime tree. After the golf course was installed, a very old chestnut avenue was felled and replaced by oaks. The creation of a second bridge, which sensitively disturbs the island character of the outer bailey and is probably intended to provide more convenient access for golf course visitors to the castle, was also not very compatible with monument preservation. In this context, however, it should not go unmentioned that the golf course generates money that can be invested in the preservation of the property.

The castle-like main castle is located on the eastern island, opposite the garden island, and rises directly from the water of the inner moats. It is a self-contained four-wing complex with a square pavilion tower at each corner – these towers were built between 1663 and 1668. The four-wing building is enclosed by three ramparts and the outer bailey. The ramparts used to be significantly higher, almost covering the ground floor. The slated, eight-row, steep, and recessed tower roofs were only added at the beginning of the 19th century. Each tower of the castle (6 in total – the four corner towers of the main castle, the bell tower, and another on the edge of the outer bailey) is adorned with an onion dome, crowned by a weather vane. The four wings have simple gable roofs.

The complex thus follows the building type often observed in Westphalia of a castle built on two islands. On one island is the outer bailey, on the other the main castle. Here, however, a special feature arises from the fact that the rampart-like extensions of the outer bailey island concentrically enclose the innermost moat. To the west, further moats follow and enclose the square garden island. This is as large as the farmyard and the main castle combined. Looking at the entire property, a system of 200 x 350 m in size results. The structural coherence of Westerwinkel Castle is remarkable. It appears as if it was built from a single mold. The main reason for this is the short and undisturbed construction phase, but the spaciousness and generosity of the landscape planning around the castle also contribute to this.

The castles in Burgundy, Johannisburg Castle in Aschaffenburg, Sternberg Castle in Franconia, and similar complexes are famous examples and comparative types for this architectural style. It is a castellated type that was once a regular building form in the Renaissance and experiences a late flowering here. Given the late construction period, it already appears a little archaic in concept. The master builder was probably the prince-bishop's engineer Peter Pictorius the Elder, who lived from 1626-1685.

All sides of the castle are designed identically: two rows of uniform stone cross windows for the upper and ground floors. Further down are small cellar hatches. The design of the windows is continued on the corner pavilions. The facade is horizontally structured by string courses. Rubble stone was used as material for the plinth, and bricks for the walls. Both have been plastered. Visible sandstone was used for the corner quoins.

On the ground floor, all reception rooms are arranged in a simple sequence, one behind the other, across the full width of the wings. The south wing housed the quarters for high-ranking guests. On the upper floor, there is a corridor running around the courtyard, from which the individual rooms and apartments branch off – a completely different arrangement concept.

There is only one bridge connecting to the outer bailey. This consists of several irregularly arranged buildings that are open towards the four-wing complex. Looking at the entrance to the main castle on the north side of the wing building, one can see that the bridge and gateway are slightly shifted from the central axis. The portal frame is of Tuscan order and is crowned by a broken pediment. The year is given as 1668. On the west wing, above a double-flight open staircase, there is another gatehouse with a bridge over a second moat, which encloses the entire complex in a square. The Baroque inner courtyard portal is richly structured and is located exactly on the central axis. The building inscription reads: DOMINE REFUGIUM FACTUS ES NOBIS A GENEATIONE IN GENERATIONE ANNO MDCLXIII – "God is our refuge from generation to generation" or "Lord, you are our refuge from generation to generation," Anno 1663. Despite this year, the portal was only inserted between 1680 and 1690.

In the center – opposite the gate leading to the inner courtyard – stands the clock tower. After passing through the entrance gate, one enters the entrance hall. Here one sees a Dutch clock. It is also called an "astronomical clock" because it not only shows the time but also the day of the week, the date, and the month, as well as the current zodiac sign. The main staircase made of oak leads to the upper floor.

The administrator's house is located between the two islands. It was built in the first quarter of the 19th century. Ornaments made of colored bricks give it a cheerful and very special touch, as stated on the information sheet in the entrance area.

In the immediate vicinity of the castle is also the "Zum letzten Tee" café, a restaurant with an attached beer garden. On the menu board, there is a reference to the "Original Höveler Ritterbier, since 1893". The golf course is operated by "Golfanlage Westerwinkel GmbH & Co. KG", whose administration is located near the castle grounds. The "Golf Bistro" is affiliated with it and can be used by arrangement from Friday to Tuesday (Wednesday/Thursday are considered rest days).

On the edge of the golf course stands a memorial stone dedicated to Saint Hubertus with the inscription "Sct. Hubertus, November 3, 1885". It shows Hubertus standing at the edge of the forest, his horse's head just peeking out of the forest, its body still inside. Unfortunately, the head of the Hubertus figure is now missing.

The hiking trails around the castle are lined with signs intended to introduce hikers to the local flora and fauna, and some have a nostalgic character, as they describe – in old spelling, of course – animal species such as the partridge, which are now among the highly endangered species and hopefully will still be found in the region for a long time. The description of a larch – placed directly in front of an oak tree – gives the signs an unintentionally cheerful note.

Those seeking the peace and idyll of this seemingly sleepy place should avoid the numerous joggers and cyclists who, on sunny days, fill this oasis of calm with life, and whose numbers are actually only surpassed by those of the mosquitoes. A trip into the countryside should therefore be particularly relaxing for those who seek human company.

At Westerwinkel Castle, a total of three portals can be found, adorned by the combined coat of arms of the Merveldt and Westerholt families. The first is located at the gatehouse of the outer bailey, the second can be seen above the entrance to the four-wing complex, and the third is finally at the representative entrance to the west wing of the main house.

There are diverse connections between the houses of Merveldt and Westerholt. Both belong to the ancient Westphalian nobility and were elevated to the status of Imperial Barons within a short period of time. The von Westerholt, whose ancestral castle of the same name is located in the Lordship of Recklinghausen, were elevated to Imperial Barons in 1634, the von Merveldt 34 years later.

Several marriages connect both families:

• Theodor Hermann von Merveldt (1624-1688), Imperial Baron from 1668, married Anna Sophia von Westerholt zu Lembeck in 1649. It is their coat of arms that can be seen on the gates of the outer bailey.
• Theodor Burchard von Merveldt (1624-1688), Imperial Count from 1726, married Sophia Theodora von Westerholt zu Lembeck in 1677.
• Ferdinand Theodor von Merveldt (1681-1765) married a woman from Westerholt zu Lembeck in 1708. This expanded the possessions of the Counts of Merveldt, including Lembeck Castle, which, like Westerwinkel Castle, is still owned by the family today. Lembeck could thus be united with Westerwinkel into a possession in the form of a fideicommissum. Originally there had been a total of five heiresses, but the other four had been compensated in 1733.

Through the union of the houses, the family's coat of arms has also been expanded.

The ancestral coat of arms of the Merveldt family shows a golden lattice work in blue, consisting of two intersecting chevrons and two bendlets, one bend dexter, the other bend sinister. It is not an interwoven diagonal lattice, even if some erroneous depictions (also in Siebmacher) represent it in such a way. If one looks at the coat of arms on site, one quickly notices that a blank space was always left above the chevrons ending in a point at the top. Also, no further bendlets are visible at the bottom, although there would be enough space for them. The crest shows the shield in a reduced form. It is located between two blue ostrich feathers charged with diagonal golden staves. The mantling is in blue and gold. In Siebmacher, the feathers are described differently, namely only as golden, but here too, during an inspection at Westerwinkel Castle itself, one sees that in reality the aforementioned depiction is correct.

In contrast, the coat of arms of the Westerholt family is quartered. Field 1 and Field 4 showed the family's ancestral coat of arms, which is per pale black and silver and twice divided. On Field 2 and 3, the Lembeck coat of arms is visible. It consists of three silver nails arranged in a pall shape, with their points directed towards the center, in red on a silver serrated field.

Above Field 1 and 4 is a crest, a black and silver torse, on which sits a red-armed silver swan with wings open to the right. The left wing is silver with a black bar, the right wing is black with a silver bar. The wings generally have the same colors and divisions as the shield or field. Above Field 2 and 3, a flight is visible, silver on the right, red on the left.

In this regard, too, there are differing details in Siebmacher. Field 2 and 3 are said to contain a silver ram's head on a red ground, studded with three blue nails. The visual evidence at Westerwinkel Castle clearly deviates from this description.

Over the years, the Westerholt coat of arms has been altered several times. It was expanded to include the elements of Gysenberg and Raitz von Frentz (baronial and comital coat of arms of Westerholt). The new coat of arms now bears a quartered escutcheon of Westerholt and Lembeck on a shield quartered by Gysenberg and Raitz von Frentz.

All coats of arms above the portals bear the combined coat of arms of Merveldt/von Westerholt. The coats of arms of each of the two spouses each occupy one half of the split shield. All three crests are united on the combined shield.

Within the castle itself, further heraldic documents from a later period can be found. They show a further development of the earlier coat of arms states. While outside the castle the Merveldt and Westerholt coats of arms are still neatly separated in a split shield, they later merge into a single coat of arms. The Merveldt coat of arms then lies as an inescutcheon on the Westerholt-Lembeck main shield.

The corner pavilion should also be mentioned. Formerly, the servants' quarters and brewing kitchen were housed here. The pavilion served as a storage facility. The year dates the building to 1663. Looking at the two-story gatehouse with drawbridge and the corner pavilion to the left, one can see the marital coat of arms above the portal with drawbridge. It is split into Merveldt (front) and Westerholt (rear). The crests visually show Westerholt, Merveldt, Lembeck from left to right.

Westerwinkel Castle houses a museum that can be visited by appointment.