Wolbeck Castle
| Wolbeck Castle | ||
|---|---|---|
| Creation time : | after 1242 | |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg | |
| Conservation status: | Burgstall | |
| Standing position : | Landesburg | |
| Place: | Munster-Wolbeck | |
| Geographical location | 51 ° 55 '11 " N , 7 ° 43' 58" E | |
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The defunct Wolbeck Castle was a state castle of the bishopric of Münster and the residence of the prince-bishops in Wolbeck (today the city of Münster ).
history
Bishop Ludolf von Holte had indeed broken the power of the Meinhövel ministerial family from the Münsterland, but he still had to reckon with the rebellious pin nobility . In addition, a civic self-confidence began to show more and more in the city of Münster. He therefore decided to build a castle as a military base and residence outside the city of Münster.
A site at the confluence of the Angel and the Piepenbach, about eight kilometers from the city of Münster, was selected as the construction site . The location was also of strategic importance because it controlled the road from Friesland via Münster to Lippe near Hovestadt Castle in Cologne and the road from Hamm to Osnabrück via Telgte . It is unlikely that there was a Meinhövel castle at this point. It is now assumed that Meinhövel Castle has been located near Nordkirchen .
Wolbeck Castle essentially consisted of an octagonal keep . This was by moats surrounded and ramparts. The tower had several floors. The Prince-Bishop's apartment was on the floor above the first floor. On this level, the room height was significantly greater than on the other floors.
Prince-Bishop Florence von Wevelinghoven modernized the complex and had a two-winged building built as a residence. The old tower remained, but was not directly connected to the new residence. According to the later master builder Johann Krafft from 1650, the complex was around 45 m wide and 50 m long. She was completely surrounded by forces.
In particular, the castle offered the advantage of being close to the city of Münster on the one hand, and on the other hand it protected the bishops from attacks by the citizens. Since the middle of the 13th century, the castle was more important as the seat of the sovereign than the capital. The bishops entered the city regularly from Wolbeck Castle. From the castle, Franz von Waldeck coordinated the attack of the allied troops on the Anabaptist empire of Munster .
At the same time, the castle was the center of the great Wolbeck office . This covered a large part of the central Münsterland . The focus of the episcopal possessions in the narrower sense was also in this area. There has been evidence of a sovereign bailiff there since 1243. Under the name Drost , the office became the hereditary property of the von Merveldt family in the 16th century . Dietrich von Merveldt, who was significantly involved in the suppression of the Anabaptist rule, had a Burgmannshaus built on the stone gate in the Weser Renaissance style. Today the Drostenhof is sometimes incorrectly referred to as Wolbeck Castle.
The castle itself lost its importance after the reign of Franz von Waldeck. Bishop Christoph Bernhard von Galen was still planning to convert it into a castle, but these ideas were not carried out. The prince-bishops also used the castle extensively as a hunting ground. Clemens August von Bayern had a zoo laid out there. Near already had Franz Arnold von Wolff-Metternich to the canal can build a small hunting lodge.
During the Seven Years' War the facility was badly damaged by French artillery and the remains were demolished in 1767. The stones were partially used for the construction of the new prince-bishop's residence in Münster . Only the remains of the old keep remained until 1810. Hardly anything has survived from the actual castle in Wolbeck. The place of the castle is only visible through a few elevations in the ground.
literature
- Handbook of Historic Places. Vol. 3 North Rhine-Westphalia. Stuttgart 1970, p. 796.
- Wilhelm Kohl: The diocese of Münster. The diocese 1. Berlin 1999 (Germania sacra NF 37.1), p. 24f.