Hetterscheidt Castle

Hetterscheidt Castle (also Hetterscheidt Castle, Hetterscheidt House) was a moated castle or water castle in the Hetterscheidt district of Heiligenhaus.

The area of today's municipality of Heiligenhaus belonged to Werden Abbey as an endowment since its foundation. Besides Langenbögel, Hetterscheidt, mentioned in 847 as Hetratescethe, was one of the main estates of the monastery. As a fortified house, the building was mentioned in the Werden account books in 1364/65 in connection with the construction of walls and gates. The complex was given as a fief. It consisted of an upper house and an outbuilding. The feoffee assured that he would move into the outbuilding as soon as the abbots wanted to live in Hetterscheidt. The castle, sometimes also referred to as a palace, served as a summer residence for the abbots. A chapel is attested for 1525. In 1587, the complex was destroyed during the Spanish Winter and was rebuilt by Abbot Hugo Preuteus and surrounded by a wall. Today, a tower of the building remains. Its exact form is not entirely clear. A historical depiction from the 16th century shows a moated castle with a gabled house and a square tower. Another illustration shows two towers of different heights. A depiction from 1783 shows a two-story house with a gabled roof and two round towers. The complex fell into disrepair from the 18th century onwards.