Schloss Nordkirchen

The northern churches castle is located in the municipality of Northern churches in Coesfeld. It is called due to its size and design of the baroque as the " Westphalian Versailles ". It is the largest moated castle in Westphalia.

The palace complex

The castle building

The current castle is the successor building a moated castle of the 16th century, the lords of Morrien. It was started from 1703 to 1734 in several phases by the Prince-Bishop Friedrich Christian von Plettenberg Lenhausen and finally completed by his nephew, Prime Minister Ferdinand von Plettenberg. The castle came in 1833 to the Count of Esterhazy, whose family sold it in 1903 to the Duke of Arenberg Engelbert Maria. In the years around 1909/1914, the castle was expanded to its present size. 1933, the newly founded by the Dukes of Arenberg Arenberg -Nord GmbH churches with the surrounding land and the northern churches castle. The castle was in 1959 sold to the State of North Rhine -Westphalia, in later years, the neighboring Oranienburg and the castle park, most recently in 2004 and the south contiguous forest zoo, along with a total of over 1,000 acres of surrounding woods.

Nordkirchen houses since 1951, the College of Finance of North Rhine -Westphalia. Parts of the castle are released for visitors and can also be viewed as the park. The castle restaurant is housed. The chapel can be rented for weddings. Palace and Park were declared by UNESCO as a " total work of art of international status " qualifies for protection.

The architects of the building complex were Gottfried Laurenz Pictorius, from 1706 Pictorius Peter the Younger and from 1724 Johann Conrad Schlaun of the palace at the " Westphalian Versailles " remodeled. The center of the palace is the main building, the Corps de Logis, from which the lower wings, which contain, among other things, the castle chapel, continue to develop and U-shaped surround the courtyard. The entire building complex is, although supplemented extensively in the highest degree symmetrical and in this form is a classic example of a perfectly preserved baroque gardens in the early 20th century. The castle follows Netherlandish models, such as Het Loo near Apeldoorn. The built brick and jointed with sandstone elements facades of the palace Northern churches are typical of the Baroque architecture of Westphalia, in particular the works of Johann Conrad Schlaun.

The castle garden

The castle itself stands on a rectangular island and is surrounded by a wide moat, which in turn is bounded by a walk- dam, to which a further ditch flows. The palace is thus surrounded by two moats. The corners of the island are accented by four small pavilions.

The castle buildings are surrounded by the 170 -hectare castle park, whose main area consists of a further upstream to the castle island, which can be accessed via a staircase from the corps de logis from. At the center of this garden is a magnificent Broderieparterre, which is flanked by two simpler lawn parterre left and right. From the main building on the island garden of view into another avenue which the view continues as a seemingly never- axis view and in the village churches North comes to an end.

Gardens and avenues of the palace are richly decorated with sculptures. However, only the sculptures stand in the two rows of chestnut trees at their old place, the other is the original order and installation can not be reconstructed .. The first documented delivery of garden sculptures made ​​in 1721 by the sculptor Johann Wilhelm Münster Groninger. The Groninger designed by ancient deities were erected in 1725 to plans by Johann Conrad Schlaun among the trees of the newly created chestnut avenue. Other sculptures were created by the sculptors Panhoff and Ch Manskirch who created, among other statues of Saturn, Mars, Faunus, Flora and Venus as well as some putting.

Several figures in the environment of the castle are now weathered or damaged. Many of the newer sculptures from the years 1903-1907, when the gardens were restored in Baroque style, especially in the area of ​​today "Venus Isle " said garden on the island north of the main lock, with which it is linked by a terrace stairs.

The castle garden is a station of the European Garden Heritage Network.

Others

In September 1976, a solemn vow with performance of a Great curfew took place in the castle grounds by the 7th Armoured Division of the Bundeswehr.

In the castle garden a few scenes in the film Not ' with Leo ( 1994) were filmed. In 2008, the castle served as a backdrop for TV movie Krupp - A German family, as it had been for the recordings at the headquarters of the Krupp family, the Villa Hügel in Essen, no filming permit.

The Marstor of the castle was 2008 monument of the month in Westphalia -Lippe in August.