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- English -

Paderborn: Neuhaus Castle

The Neuhaus Castle at the confluence of the rivers Lippe, Alme and Pader, on a kind of island, forms the center of the district of  named after him, about 4 kilometers north of downtown Paderborn.

The castle was built in various phases between 1530 and 1730 and was constantly changed. The Paderborn people originally owe their splendor to their constant argument with the local bishops.

In 1370, Bishop Heinrich von Spiegel was tired of residing in the midst of defiant citizens. He moved his headquarters to Neuhaus village a few kilometers away and built the Haus Spiegel (today the oldest part of the castle).

The Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn was ruled for 432 years from Neuhaus, and over the centuries the residence has grown building by building. In 1590, Bishop Dietrich von Fürstenberg let the four-wing complex in the Weser Renaissance style expanded.

You had to show a clear line against the Protestants. Therefore, the size of the castle was almost doubled and supplemented with four fortified-looking round towers. The facility survived the Thirty Years' War without major damage.

The builders were guided by the Italians' antique or Vitruvian understanding of art. The architecture Vredemann de Vries had a great influence on the design of columns, pedestals, gables and portals.

In the 18th century, the rooms and the park were redesigned by the architect Franz Christoph Nagel. In collaboration with renowned Westphalian artists, the castle was adapted to the taste of the time and converted into a maison de plaisance, a palace, where the prince-bishop could retire. In 1736 the Bishop Clemens August of Wittelsbach had the baroque garden completed.

Neuhaus Castle is now a four-wing complex with round corner towers and a surrounding moat. The main entrance is on the south side. The south wing is formed by the House of Braunschweig, which was built in 1526. The Kerssenbrock house, which was built around 1560, adjoins the building on the east side.

Opposite him stands on the west side near the south-west corner of the Cologne house and right next to it the house from around 1370. The latter is the oldest surviving building of Neuhaus Castle.

The entire garden side in the north was built together with the round corner towers around 1590. It is called Haus Fürstenberg. The construction created access to the garden, which is still dominated by a former drawbridge.

Grenadiers from the Paderborn Infantry Regiment were stationed in order to prevent the disrespectful Paderborners from entering the castle grounds without being asked. The Prussians did not take the episcopal military very seriously.

At the beginning of the 19th century, barracks were established in the castle after the secularization of the bishopric. In 1802, they annexed the prince-bishopric to compensate for the loss of territory to the French on the left bank of the Rhine. This put an end to the bishop as sovereign and the castle as residence.

Napoleon briefly interrupted Prussian rule again, but from 1813 Berlin was again in charge. The Prussia used the castle as barracks, mainly for equestrian regiments. The tradition continued seamlessly after the First World War.

The British Army of the Rhine moved in after the Second World War for the next decades. Later on the Neuhaus village, which was still independent at the time, took over the entire complex from the British army.

It was only on July 19, 1964 that the British High Command returned the system at the symbolic price of one German mark to the community, which has since been renamed "Schloss Neuhaus". She set up a junior high school here three years later (1967). It started with 32 pupils, today about 750 (!) Children and young people are learning here.

Other municipalities would have done everything possible to accommodate in such a showpiece a private high school for the offsprings of the rich and powerful as at Castle Salem or at least a noble private clinic for beauty-conscious celebrities.

Unfortunately, the buildings can only be visited during events. The city of Paderborn only uses the princely dining room still for receptions, the rest is school. The historical museum on the city and castle history is not housed in the castle, but in the neighboring stables.

Fortunately, the castle grounds are open to the public. The entrances are mostly provided with richly decorated portals. The stair towers partly come from different times and vary greatly in appearance.

Numerous details can be seen on the tour of the grounds. On the northwest side, not far from the tower, there is a small stone figure on the roof gable, which reminds of the fate of a roofer.

The year of completion and the coat of arms of the Lords of Fürstenberg can be seen on the southeast tower. The massive and impressive towers are now covered with hoods with flags. The roof bays vary from wing to wing and can be partially assigned to the eras.

The splendid side of the castle is on the back. Behind the castle, in the north, there is a view of the extensive, former baroque garden. He has many beautiful views of the castle. Together with the circular route around the facility, it invites you to stroll.

After the incorporation in 1975, the community carefully continued the maintenance of the castle and park together with the city of Paderborn. For Paderborn, this had the advantage that the city was able to host the NRW Garden Show in 1994 in the Neuhaus Castle park.

Neuhaus Castle becomes the center of the horticultural show in North Rhine-Westphalia. The castle park and the floodplain park are being built or are being restored. With the Garden show 1995 now annual events begin in the context of the castle summer.

Unfortunately, we also have to find out that only the most necessary maintenance is carried out on the area. Millions were invested at that time back then. Many things are slowly decaying or are no longer in operation. That's really a pity!

Parking and sightseeing of the castle park and the former garden show grounds are free of charge!

Olfen: Steveraue

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Bei der Stadt Olfen, dort wo sich Münsterland und Ruhrgebiet in NRW treffen, fängt die Steveraue an. Der Fluss Stever fließt hier ganz gemächlich dahin.

Der naturnahe Umbau hat vor über 20 Jahren begonnen. Hier besaß die Ruhrkohle AG an die 45 Hektar Land, da sie unter Olfen Kohle abbauen wollte. Die Politik konnte hier jedoch die Nordwanderung des Bergbaus verhindern. 

Die Stadt konnte das Areal aufkaufen und begann, die bisher landwirtschaftlich genutzten Flächen rechts und links der Stever, zu renaturieren. Eine offene Weidelandschaft sollte entstehen mit großen Huftieren, wie den Heckrindern oder Konikpferden, als "Landschaftspfleger".

Allein das Fressverhalten der Tiere sollte die Auenlandschaft allmählich wieder in ihren Ursprungszustand versetzen - eine Weidelandschaft mit kleinen Baumgruppen und übersichtlichem Buschwerk mit ganz neuen Lebensräumen auch für Brutvögel und seltene Pflanzenarten.

Das Heckrind gilt als Hausrindrasse und stammt als solche nach herkömmlicher Auffassung vom 1627 ausgestorbenen Auerochsen ab. Die Kreuzung entstand an Hand eines Abbildes des Auerochsen aus ursprünglich 15 Rinderrassen, begonnen in den 1920er Jahren durch Heinz und Lutz Heck. Die heutige Population umfasst mehrere tausend Tiere und ist vermutlich aus nur 40 Exemplaren des Münchner Tierparks Hellabrunn entstanden, die den Zweiten Weltkrieg überlebt hatten. 

Konik ist das polnische Wort für „Pferdchen“ und bezeichnet ein Pony von 130-140 Zentimetern Stockmaß, das in vielen Gebieten Mitteleuropas in verwilderten Herden lebt. Die Kleinpferde haben eine Zebrazeichnung auf den Beinen, was auf ihre nahe Verwandtschaft zu den ursprünglichen Wildpferderassen hinweist. Vor allem zur Pflege von Naturschutzgebieten wird in deutschen, niederländischen und polnischen Nationalparks das Konik Pony eingesetzt.

Es wurden Flächen ausgewiesen, Zäune gesetzt und schrittweise mit der Renaturierung des Steververlaufs begonnen. Ziel war und ist es, dass die Stever wieder ungestraft über ihre Ufer treten und die angrenzenden Flächen wieder in eine richtige Aue verwandeln darf.

Dreh- und Angelpunkt der Aue ist die Stever, die mit ihrem Fließverhalten den Charakter einer Aue erst möglich macht. Und auch sie wird stetig weiter renaturiert werden.

Bis heute trennt eine Mühle den Oberlauf vom Unterlauf des Flusses. 2015 wurde eine Nebenrinne geschaffen, die genau durch das Weidegebiet führt. Sie hat die alten Flussarme wieder miteinander verbunden und ermöglicht den Fischen nun eine ungestörte Wanderung.

Letztlich sollen alte Befestigungen gänzlich verschwinden, damit sich der Fluss wieder selbst sein Bett suchen kann. Heute ist die Steveraue aus dem Bild der Stadt Olfen nicht mehr wegzudenken.

Zahlreiche Besucher genießen und beobachten, wie sich von Jahr zu Jahr das Bild der Steveraue ändert. Ein paar im Wasser liegende Baumstämme sind Ergebnis vergangener Sturmschäden. Jetzt sind es ideale Brutplätze für Wasservögel.

Heute blickt der Besucher auf 120 ha Natur pur, die sich Jahr für Jahr mehr und mehr in eine ursprüngliche Auenlandschaft verwandelt. Störche, Eisvögel, Wildgänse, Uferschwalben, Fischreiher und zahlreiche Kleintiere und Insekten haben die Aue für sich entdeckt.

Die Steverauen sind ein sensibles Ökosystem. Im Zusammenspiel von Wasser und Tieren entwickelt die Landschaft eine ganz eigene Dynamik, die ständigen Änderungen unterliegt. Info-Tafeln erzählen von der Geschichte, den Bewohnern und der Zukunft des Geländes.

Eintritt und Parkmöglichkeiten sind kostenlos!

-English-

Nordkirchen Castle is located in the town of the same name on the southern edge of the Münsterland region.

Nordkirchen Castle was not the first castle at this place. The first castle in Nordkirchen was built on this ground around 1400, at that time by the Lüdinghausen knight family.

In this context, the old church near the castle was demolished under great turmoil, in which even the Pope was involved, and rebuilt along with the village at the present location.

Later a chapel, from 1609 a cross reminded of the old church. The cross was renewed in 1860 by the Esterhazy, the then castle owners. In 1975 it received a new body, the work of the artist Tisa von der Schulenburg.

Originally, Nordkirchen Castle after the purchase was only to be expanded  by the owner of Nordkirchen Castle. When planning began in 1697, the aim was to create a residential complex that was as representative as possible for the court of the then Prince-Bishop of Münster. But then he decided on a complete demolition and a completely new building.

Construction began in 1703 and took over 30 years. Two architects in particular shaped the style of the complex: Gottfried Laurenz Pictorius started the design and construction management, and after his death Johann Conrad Schlaun completed the work.

However, the client and actual "father of the castle", Prince-Bishop of Münster, Friedrich Christian von Plettenberg-Lenhausen, did not experience the completion of his idea. He died in 1706 and his nephew "Ferdinand von Plettenberg" became the new house owner in Nordkirchen. In 1712, at the age of 22, he was alone in front of the large building project.

The same year Ferdinand married Bernhardine Felicitas v. Westerholt zu Lembeck and later decisively influenced European politics as the imperial count. He not only had the castle furnished much more splendidly than originally thought by his uncle, but also became the sponsor and initiator of other buildings in the village with his wife.

Nordkirchen Castle is still referred to as "Westphalian Versailles". The symmetrical structure of the building with a courtyard on the south side and a garden on the north side shows that there are parallels that are deliberate. But the brick construction typical of the Münsterland gives the castle its own character.

Another big difference from the French model is the double moat that surrounds the castle. The two trenches are separated by an accessible wall.

If you enter the castle island from the south through the lion gate, the visitor can see the entire horseshoe-shaped complex. If the former farmyard with the stables is crossed, you can reach the courtyard through the women gate (Cour d'Honneur).

The actual main building (Corps de Logis) now rises to the north and can be visited (guided tour). It consists of a transept and pavilions attached on both sides.

The area in the middle (Risalit) with its four pilasters in the gable field bears the coat of arms of the Plettenbergs, held by two lions. Below, on the attic floor, four female statues symbolize the four seasons.

In addition to the centrally located state rooms, various salons and cabinets in the eastern wing, the building also houses splendidly furnished guest rooms for high-ranking visitors in the rear western area (imperial room).

On both sides of the court of honor there are clearly lower, angular buildings with brick pilasters and double-curved gable extensions: west (left) the servant wing, east the chapel wing. It contains the chapel “Assumption of Virgin Mary”, magnificently furnished between 1705 and 1714. It is often used for weddings nowadays.

The elaborate portal of the chapel and the roof rider with his bell represent the only deviation in the symmetry of the palace complex. Above the portal you can see the figures of the evangelist John and St. Antonius of Padua, as well as the inscription of the laying of the foundation stone.

The building of the servants also has an interesting special feature with the sundial. It is considered unique in Central Europe because the digits do not indicate the direct time, but (with the exception of the two outer ones) the number of half an hour after sunrise.

In 1913, the originally L-shaped farm buildings adjoining to the south were replaced by bright, representative vestibules. Horse stables were originally planned  in the west and a brewing and baking house in the east.

If you leave the inner courtyard of the castle via one of the three large bridges, you reach the baroque north garden of the "Venus Island" via the wall that separates the inner and outer moat: a symmetrical garden. French garden architects were once used to plan it.

Due to the impressive restoration of this site according to authentic templates and original plans, the Schlosspark Nordkirchen is of particular importance today. Overall size including the castle terrace and promenoires: 240 x 130 meters = 31,200 square meters. The reconstruction was carried out from 1989 to 1991.

The entire castle park covers 72 hectares and has always been rich in sculptures. However, a large number of them have weathered and broken over time. If the visitor nevertheless notices the many brightly shining stone vases, animals and allegorical figures, these are mostly garden decorations that were created between 1903 and 1914 when the baroque gardens, primarily the Venus Island, were restored.

There is hardly an original figure in its old place today, with the exception of the large sculptures in the two chestnut avenues in the Westgarten: the oldest news about a delivery of these sculptures dates back to 1721.

In the east garden is the "Chinese fountain". The figures of the fountain represent agriculture, fishing, culture, caste, religion, music and warriors. They used to line the entire east garden and have been in their current position since 1972. A monument to the von Arenberg family was originally supposed to be here.

The Oranienburg is also in the area of ​​the Westgarten. This had already been erected in 1715 as a one-story orangery building by Peter Pictorius. From 1725 he expanded the orangery into a two-story garden casino and summer palace with ballroom. The administration of the University of Applied Sciences for Finance is housed in the Oranienburg today. Concerts and events take place in the large ballroom.

Separated from the Oranienburg by the Maze District, the pheasantry erected by J. C. Schlaun from 1727 to 1734 lay to the west, framed by a high wall rectangle measuring approx. 90 by 40 meters. It served as wind protection and protection against predators. After the pheasantry was demolished in 1935, there are with the two pillars still remains.

In the northwestern district of the palace park, the orangery was designed from 1727 - 1734, like the pheasantry, according to the plans of J. C. Schlaun. The flat gable on the south side adorns the coat of arms of Ferdinand v. Plettenberg under the count crown and the chain of the golden fleece. The gardeners apartments were in the two wings.

The area in front of the building was used as a vegetable garden and was divided into four smaller squares by a crossroads. Today there are mostly newly planted trees in this garden region. The orangery is privately owned and is used as a living and exhibition space.

Schloss Nordkirchen has been spared destruction by fire or war in its more than 300-year history. However, the natural deterioration of the strukture was very hard, especially in the 19th century. However, there were always buyers who invested money in the conservation. Sometimes it was a duke, later the state of North Rhine-Westphalia took over the imposing moated castle.

Schloss Nordkirchen has served as a university of applied sciences for finance in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia since the 1950s. Graduate financial economists are trained here, who are then mainly used in the country's tax offices.

Olfen: Stever Floodplain

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The Stever floodplain begins in the city of Olfen, where the Münsterland and Ruhr area meet. The Stever River flows here at a leisurely pace.

The reconstruction of the nature started over 20 years ago. Here, the company Ruhrkohle AG owned around 45 hectares of land because they wanted to mine coal. Here, however, politics was able to prevent the northward migration of the mining industry.

The city was able to buy the area and began to renaturalize the agricultural areas to the right and left of the Stever river. An open pasture landscape should be created with large ungulates, such as the Heck cattle or Konik horses, as “landscape carers”.

The feeding behavior of the animals alone should gradually bring the floodplain landscape back to its original state - a pasture landscape with small groups of trees and clearer bushes with completely new habitats for breeding birds and rare plant species.

The Heck cattle is considered a domestic cattle breed and, as such, comes from the Aurochs who died out in 1627 according to the conventional view. These hybrid was created on the basis of an image of the auroch from originally 15 cattle breeds, started in the 1920s by Heinz and Lutz Heck. Today's population comprises several thousand animals and is believed to have arisen from only 40 specimens of the Munich Zoo Hellabrunn, which had survived the Second World War.

Konik is the Polish word for "horse" and refers to a pony of 130-140 centimeters in height, which lives nearly wild in herds in many areas of Central Europe. The small horses have a zebra drawing on their legs, which indicates their close relationship to the original wild horse breeds. The Konik Pony is mainly used to maintain nature reserves in German, Dutch and Polish national parks.

Areas were identified, fences were set up and the renaturation of the Stever course was gradually started. The goal was and is that the Stever can step over their banks again unhindered and transform the adjacent areas into a real floodplain again.

The pivotal point of the floodplain is the Stever river, which with its flow behavior makes the character of a floodplain possible. And it too will continue to be renatured.

Until today, a mill separates the upper reaches from the lower reaches of the river. In 2015 a side channel was created that leads exactly through the pasture area. It has reconnected the old branches of the river and now enables the fish to wander undisturbed.

Ultimately, old reinforcements should completely disappear so that the river can find its own bed again. Today the Stever floodplain is an integral part of the city of Olfen.

Numerous visitors enjoy and observe how the image of the Stever foodplains changes from year to year. A few tree trunks lying in the water are the result of past storm damages. Now they are ideal breeding grounds for water birds.

Today, the visitor looks at 120 hectares of pure nature, which is transformed more and more into an original meadow landscape year after year. Storks, kingfishers, wild geese, bank swallows, herons and numerous small animals and insects have discovered the floodplain for themselves.

The Stever floodplains are a sensitive ecosystem. In the interplay of water and animals, the landscape develops its own dynamic, which is subject to constant change. Information boards tell about the history, the inhabitants and the future of this place.

Visiting and parking are free!

- English -

Dorsten: Hervester Swamp

The natural paradise Hervester Swamp is a paradise for nature lovers. In addition to the impressive floodplain landscape, numerous bird species can be observed there. The 168 hectare former lowland area is located northeast of the Hervest-Dorsten neighborhood.

The Harvester Swamp is a former silt-up arm of the Lippe and part of the Harvest-Wulfener sand plates. The original vegetation was probably a partly moist and partly higher-lying dry oak-beech forest.

Over the centuries, the natural landscape has been greatly changed by cultivation measures. Low-nutrient heath areas developed from sandy soils in the Münsterland.

In 1842, the original measuring table sheet shows the Hervester Bruch as an extensive heath landscape with a small proportion of forest. Wet heath and low moor areas in the deep and dry heath in the higher areas shaped the landscape at this time.

Targeted human intervention changed it again over the next 50 years. The Hervester Bruch had been converted into a small parceled, damp to dry grassland area, partially divided by hedgerows, until 1892.

The landscape hardly changed until the late 1980s. Like the entire Ruhr area, this area is influenced by mining and its consequences. Rising groundwater and mountain subsidence massively changed the landscape.

Extensive grazing with wild cattle and natural vegetation development in the east as well as the emergence of new wetlands and settlement with a species-rich bird life in the west of the Hervesterbruch characterize a landscape area that has been severely damaged by mining but is in a positive development.

Following a decision by the Recklinghausen district, the Harvester Bruch was transformed into a coherent, Disturbance free area in 2012.

At the request of the district, Farmer  Kiekenbeck leased around 20 hectares of the large nature conservation areas and was happy to accept the idea born by the responsible district of Recklinghausen to establish water buffaloes there.

The buffalos are supposed to treat reeds and rushes and keep the growing trees small. Since water buffalos do not sweat over the skin like normal domestic cattle, they need a cool bath in the pond to cool down.

Sometimes visitors are really worried about the “cattle”, then some educational work is necessary to explain which "waterproof" exotic species these animals really are.

Without grazing, the area would quickly turn into a Carr forest. However, it is desirable to maintain the biotope mosaic with wide, moist grasslands as a breeding and feeding area for the diverse bird life with rare and endangered species. They quickly settled there when subsidence led to the area being rewetted in early 2000.

A herd of peacefully grazing rear cattle, which take over the further landscape maintenance and thus create a natural living space for their residents, provides for the beautiful farsightedness of the semi-open pasture landscape.

Along the way we passed observation posts, which are equipped with identification boards to make it easier for visitors to assign the wildlife.

Great crested grebes, flocks of wild geese or great egrets were among the bird species that gave us an idea of ​​their flying skills and fishing techniques.

The “stars” are, of course, the storks, who feel at home in the Hervester Bruch and reliably care for offspring every year. Two eyries are currently occupied. So that there are no territorial disputes among the animals, they are about 1.5 km apart.

The area has been closed to ordinary traffic. There are two parking spaces in the immediate vicinity: 1x in the Gälkenheide just before the Wien creek and 1x on the Herverster Straße / corner of Brauckweg.

Viewing and parking are free of charge.

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