Germany, Nordkirchen, Schloss (1), view from the south

Nordkirchen-Hauptgebaeude-von-Venusinsel-DSC 5912

Schloss Nordkirchen is a palace situated in the town of

Nordkirchen Nordkirchen is a municipality in the district of Coesfeld, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Nordkirchen's most famous site is Schloss Nordkirchen, built in the 18th century for a local bishop and known as the Versailles of Westphalia Wes ...

in the Coesfeld administrative district in the state of

North Rhine Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabi ...

, Germany. The ''schloss'' was largely built between 1703 and 1734 and is known as the "

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

of Westphalia" since it is the largest of the fully or partly moated '' Wasserschlösser'' in that region. It was originally one of the residences of the

Prince-Bishopric of Münster The Prince-Bishopric of Münster (german: Fürstbistum Münster; Bistum Münster, Hochstift Münster) was a large ecclesiastical principality in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the northern part of today's North Rhine-Westphalia and western Lo ...

Ownership

The present Baroque ''

schloss ''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cognate ...

'' is the successor to a fully moated ''Wasserschloss'' built in the sixteenth century for the noble "von Morrien" family. In the eighteenth century, the structure visible today was raised in several building campaigns for Prince-bishop Friedrich Christian von Plettenberg zu Lenhausen and his successor, Prince-bishop Ferdinand von Plettenberg. In 1833, the complex passed to Count von Esterházy who sold it to Duke Engelbert Marie von

Arenberg Arenberg, also spelled as Aremberg or Ahremberg, is a former county, principality and finally duchy that was located in what is now Germany. The Dukes of Arenberg remain a prominent Belgian noble family. History First mentioned in the 12 ...

in 1903. In 1933, the Arenberg-Nordkirchen GmbH, a newly founded ducal assets management company, assumed possession. In 1959, the ''schloss'' was purchased by the State of

Nordrhein-Westfalen North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhab ...

and has since been the site of "Fachhochschule für Finanzen Nordrhein-Westfalen" (recognized University of Applied Sciences of Finances North Rhine Westphalia), a state-run college specializing in the training of future tax inspectors. The neighboring "Oranienburg" complex and the park were subsequently added, as was – in 2004 – the deer park, which included a generous green belt of more than 1,000 hectares of woodland surrounding the south-western perimeter of the ''schloss'' proper. Parts of the interior of the ''schloss'' are open to the public, as are the

parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the part of ...

s and the surrounding park. Inside the ''schloss'', an up-market restaurant offering Westphalian cuisine looks out into the large formal garden that faces the northern façade of the ''schloss''. The ''schloss'' chapel may be rented for weddings. Nordkirchen 2010-100307-10781-Oranienburg

Nordkirchen 2010-100307-10781-Oranienburg

Construction history

The architects of the ''schloss'' and its complex of outbuildings were Gottfried Laurenz Pictorius, Peter Pictorius the Younger (from 1706) and

Johann Conrad Schlaun Johann Conrad Schlaun (June 5, 1695 in Nörde now Warburg – October 21, 1773 in Münster) was a German architect. He is an important architect of the Westphalian Baroque architectural style. His designs include the Erbdrostenhof and Schloss Mü ...

, from 1724. The taller ''

corps de logis In architecture, a ''corps de logis'' () is the principal block of a large, (usually classical), mansion or palace. It contains the principal rooms, state apartments and an entry.Curl, James Stevens (2006). ''Oxford Dictionary of Architecture ...

'' is flanked by symmetrical lower wings, one of which contains the chapel. The wings are rigorously symmetrical and enclose the ''

cour d'honneur A ''cour d'honneur'' (; ; german: Ehrenhof) is the principal and formal approach and forecourt of a large building. It is usually defined by two secondary wings projecting forward from the main central block ('' corps de logis''), sometimes w ...

'' in a U shape. Dutch precedents, such as the palace

Het Loo Het Loo Palace ( nl, Paleis Het Loo , meaning "The Lea") is a palace in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, built by the House of Orange-Nassau. History The symmetrical Dutch Baroque building was designed by Jacob Roman and Johan van Swieten and was b ...

near Apeldoorn, make their presence felt, but the sandstone facing of Schloss Nordkirchen is purely Westphalian. Nordkirchen-DSC 6096-Venusinsel

Moat, parterres and park

The ''schloss'' stands on a rectangular island surrounded by a broad moat-like

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

. The island's four corners are accentuated by four small free-standing

pavilions In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

. The garden front gives onto a landscaped park of some 170 hectares, reached through a formal

of scrolling '' broderie'' on axis, flanked by expanses of lawn. The gardens and the surrounded woods are peopled with a multitude of lifesize marble statues, of which the first deliveries were made in 1721 by the Munich sculptor Johann Wilhelm Gröninger. Other sculptures were delivered by Panhoff and Charles Manskirch. Further sculptures were added during the restoration in neo-Baroque style, undertaken in 1903–07.

In popular culture

Nordkirchen Castle features prominently as a location in the 2021 film '' Spencer'', where it stands in for

Sandringham House Sandringham House is a country house in the parish of Sandringham, Norfolk, England. It is one of the royal residences of Charles III, whose grandfather, George VI, and great-grandfather, George V, both died there. The house stands in a estat ...

.Andriotis, Mary Elizabeth (17 November 2021
"You Can Visit These Castles and Houses From ''Spencer''"
''House Beautiful''. Retrieved 1 January 2022.

References

External links

Schloss Nordkirchen
General Information about the castle, about guided tours and events
Schloss Nordkirchen

360°-panorama picture of Schloss Nordkirchen
im Kulturatlas Westfalen ( Flash-Player needed)