Wasserschloss Wilkinghege: A Moated Estate in Münster, Germany
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.7
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Germany
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Holy Roman Empire
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Castle
On this page7 sections
History
Wasserschloss Wilkinghege is a former moated castle and late-Renaissance country estate in Münster, Germany. A moated castle at Wilkinghege was first documented in 1311, and the present estate occupies the same site. Its history reflects the transformation of a medieval water fortress into an early modern residence and, eventually, a hotel complex.
Medieval Ownership
In the fourteenth century, Wilkinghege was held as a fief by the Rhemen zu Barenfeld family before passing to the Lords von Cleyhorst, hereditary members of Münster’s urban elite. Heinrich I von Droste zu Hülshoff, a member of the noble Droste zu Hülshoff family of the Münsterland, acquired the property in 1545 but exchanged it again shortly afterward.
Renaissance Estate and Baroque Rebuilding
Beginning in 1550, the earlier defensive water castle was replaced on the same site by a late-Renaissance country estate. The moat was retained as a visual and architectural feature, although the complex no longer had a military purpose. The Steveninck zu Broich family, another hereditary patrician family of Münster, were the builders and owners of this phase.
In 1719, the estate was rebuilt in the Baroque style by Gottfried Laurenz Pictorius, an architect associated with Baroque architecture in Westphalia. The work was commissioned by Herr von Harde and his wife, Katharina von Keppel. Ownership changed several times after the rebuilding, but the property returned to the Rhemen zu Barenfeld family in 1779. When that family died out, the Winnecken family acquired the estate and continues to own it with the surrounding lands.
Estate, Hotel, and Rebuilding
Wilkinghege remained a landed estate until 1955, when it was converted into a hotel with a restaurant and an associated golf course. Norbert Winnecken took over management in 1956. A fire damaged the building in 1958, after which it was rebuilt largely in accordance with its earlier appearance, preserving its castle character.
Lubert Winnecken and his wife, Hede, managed the hotel from 1967. From 1970, the estate’s former farm buildings were converted into hotel rooms, and they were incorporated into the hotel complex in 1972. From 1990, the number of beds was reduced to allow the rooms to be redesigned as larger suites and guest rooms. The hotel is now managed by Rembert Winnecken, Lubert Winnecken’s eldest son, and his wife, Getha. Werner-Constantin Freiherr Droste zu Hülshoff, the brother of the poet Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, was among the estate’s residents and managers. The building is legally protected as a historic monument.
Remains
Wasserschloss Wilkinghege consists of a former moated castle transformed into a late-Renaissance country estate and rebuilt in 1719 in the Baroque style. The surrounding moat survives as an architectural and stylistic element rather than as a defensive installation. The main building was reconstructed after the 1958 fire largely in keeping with its earlier appearance.
Main Estate Building
The principal building occupies the site of the water castle known from 1311. Its form belongs to the Renaissance country estate created from 1550, while the 1719 rebuilding gave the residence its Baroque phase. Reconstruction after the fire retained the building’s earlier castle character, allowing the successive medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque associations of the site to remain legible in its present form.
Former Farm Buildings
The estate’s old agricultural buildings were converted into hotel rooms from 1970 and integrated into the hotel complex in 1972. Together with the restaurant and associated golf course, these later uses form part of the modern complex while the historic estate building and its moat remain its defining physical elements.
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