Lembeck Castle

Lembeck Castle is one of the largest and most beautiful moated castles in Münsterland. It is located in the south of Münsterland and lies directly on the western section of the 100 Castles Route. The baroque castle complex is now home to a castle museum and a local history museum. In the park there is a playground, a large picnic area and the possibility of hiring a barbecue hut. There is a castle café in front of the entrance.

• A tour of the castle grounds is possible daily during opening hours from Easter to October. The tour of the grounds is not free of charge.

In 1177, a knight by the name of Adolf von Lembeck was first mentioned in a document. The castle name "Lembeck" comes from Low German and means "clay brook". This suggests the former location of the castle in a swamp and bog area. Between 1670 and 1692, Dietrich Conrad Adolf von Westerhold-Hackfurt had the former complex expanded into one of the largest moated castles in the Münsterland region. As early as 1730, Lembeck Castle was rebuilt again by the Westphalian Baroque master Johann Conrad Schlaun.

When Dietrich Conrad Adolf died in 1702 without any male descendants, his heiress daughter brought the castle to this noble family in 1708 by marrying the Wolbeck Drosten Ferdinand Dietrich Freiherr von Merveldt zu Westerwinkel. The castle is still owned by the Merveldt zu Westerwinkel family today.

Lembeck Castle still contains several rooms furnished in the style of the 17th and 18th centuries, which can be visited as a museum. Particularly impressive are Schlaun's banqueting hall from 1730 and the Wittelsbach salon. Today, the attic of the main castle houses one of the largest local history museums in Germany, where crafts and agricultural implements of bygone times as well as archaeological finds can be viewed. A hotel and restaurant are attached to Lembeck Castle.