Mickeln House (german: Schloss Mickeln) is a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

's Himmelgeist neighbourhood. It was erected in 1843 on the site of ''Haus Mickeln'', which went back to 1210. As that building had been destroyed in a fire in 1836, Herzog Ludwig von Arenberg used an insurance payment to have renowned architect Josef Niehaus rebuild the manor as a summer residence. Niehaus used engravings of

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

s built in the 16th century by

Galeazzo Alessi Galeazzo Alessi (1512 – 30 December 1572) was an Italian architect from Perugia, known throughout Europe for his distinctive style based on his enthusiasm for ancient architecture. He studied drawing for civil and military architecture under the ...

as a template. The manor has a square plan, each side measuring 19.55 metres. All perspectives are designed identically, apart from an outside staircase on the northern side. The entrance portal is surrounded by

lime tree ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Britain and Ireland they ...

s. That concept was already envisaged in 1843, when the surrounding gardens were designed by Maximilian Friedrich Weyhe. Some of the trees, e.g.

plane tree ''Platanus'' is a genus consisting of a small number of tree species native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae. All mature members of ''Platanus'' are tall, reaching in height. All except f ...

European Beech ''Fagus sylvatica'', the European beech or common beech is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae. Description ''Fagus sylvatica'' is a large tree, capable of reaching heights of up to tall and trunk diameter, though mor ...

, and two

Lebanon cedar ''Cedrus libani'', the cedar of Lebanon or Lebanese cedar (), is a species of tree in the genus cedrus, a part of the pine family, native to the mountains of the Eastern Mediterranean basin. It is a large evergreen conifer that has great religi ...

s, have survived; the last-named are considered one of Düsseldorf's

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance. Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, nat ...

s. Since June 2000, the estate has been used as a conference centre and guest house by Düsseldorf University.

Literature

* Ludger Fischer: ''Die schönsten Schlösser und Burgen am Niederrhein.'' Wartberg, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2004, . * Norbert Richarz, Susanne Weisser: ''Der Schlosspark Mickeln in Düsseldorf-Himmelgeist.'' In: ''Denkmalpflege im Rheinland.'' 19, 1, 2002, , S. 9–14.

External links

Gardening authority of Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf University about its conference centre

List of natural monuments in Düsseldorf
{{coord, 51, 9, 58, N, 6, 48, 25.50, E, display=title, region:DE-NW_type:city_source:dewiki Buildings and structures in Düsseldorf Manor houses in Germany Natural monuments in Germany Houses completed in 1843