Beck Castle

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The castle seen from the garden

Castle Beck is a palace of the late Baroque in Bottrop district Kirchhellen -Feldhausen.

history

Indoor shot towards the garden

There was already a moated castle called "Haus Beck" in the 15th century . The current building was built between 1766 and 1771 by the most famous Westphalian baroque master builder Johann Conrad Schlaun as a pleasure palace (Maison de Plaisance) for Friedrich Florenz Raban von der Wenge (1702–1775).

At the end of the 18th century, Baron Clemens August von der Wenge , the client's son, ran a schnapps factory on the estate. After the death of his son Friedrich Florens Raban von der Wenge († 1850), the descendants of his sister Maria Franziska (1775–1800) and her husband Maximilian Werner von Wolff-Metternich inherited it . In 1958 the mining company Hibernia bought the area with the castle building.

In 1966 Karl Kuchenbäcker acquired the badly dilapidated castle and began to build a family amusement park, among other things to cover the cost of the restoration . Since then, all buildings and the portal at the entrance have been returned to their original state according to old plans .

Today the castle is one of the most beautiful preserved late Baroque architectural monuments in Westphalia and is a listed building .

Since Karl Kuchenbäcker's death on December 28, 2004, his wife Renate and his daughters Karla Kuchenbäcker and Katharina Graveland-Kuchenbäcker have been managing the Schloss Beck GmbH as the management of the castle and the park.

amusement park

Amusement park Schloss Beck
Ladybird train seen from the ferris wheel

The park surrounding the castle was converted into an amusement park in the 1960s. Families with small children are primarily addressed as the target group. There are many classic children's play equipment such as climbing frames, swings and slides.

At bigger attractions u. a. a family roller coaster , a water wave slide, a ferris wheel and various carousels (one is also suitable for people in wheelchairs) and, since 2012, an educational treetop path has been offered. The lake can be ridden with pedal boats or rowing boats.

Most of the castle itself can be visited. In most of the rooms dioramas with mechanically moved stuffed animals are shown. The basement of the castle is designed as a horror cellar and offers some gruesome animatronics .

Up until the 2016/2017 season, the park offered various dining options as well as barbecue areas, which were removed for the 2017/2018 season for fire protection reasons. It is open from March to the end of October. Dogs are allowed.

literature

  • Stefan Kleineschulte: House Beck . In: Ministry for Building and Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia / Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (Hrsg.): Burgen auf Ruhr. On the way to 100 castles, palaces and mansions in the Ruhr region . Essen: Klartext Verlag, 2010, pp. 32–35

Web links

Commons : Schloss Beck  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 51 ° 36 ′ 48 ″  N , 6 ° 58 ′ 41 ″  E