Schloss Erwitte

Schloss Erwitte was built around 1600 in the Weser Renaissance style for the noble family of Landsberg. However, the first written document in which the site and a medieval castle complex are mentioned dates back to 1273.
The Wasserschloß initially served as a residence for the Counts of Landsberg. It was later used as a hunting lodge.

The zu Landsberg-Velen and Gemen family sold it at the beginning of the 20th century. From then on, the former aristocratic residence changed hands several times and thus also changed its purpose. During the National Socialist era, it was converted into a Reich training castle. Later, it served as a military hospital.

In 1949, the castle went to the Josefsgesellschaft, which opened the first sanatorium and training center in North Rhine-Westphalia. From 1957, the area was then owned by the Federal Republic of Germany as the Graf-Landsberg barracks. The town of Erwitte acquired the Schloss Erwitte in 1976 and initially renovated the façade. The interiors were used as apartments. The castle, which was listed as a historical monument, passed into private hands in 1985. The new owner now also thoroughly restored the interior. It was then run as the "Hotel & Restaurant Schloss Erwitte". In 2018, it became the property of the Volker Westermann group of companies.

The ideal location in picturesque surroundings combined with excellent transport links make Schloss Erwitte the perfect venue for unforgettable weddings and great events. As an ideal addition to its current use, the castle has been the official seat of the Hellweg registry office since summer 2024, an inter-municipal collaboration between Erwitte, Anröchte and Bad Sassendorf. Now everything can take place in one place, from the registration of the marriage to the civil ceremony and the celebration. Of course, all other registry office services are also offered here.

The Renaissance-style castle was built on the foundations of medieval predecessor buildings. In northern Germany to the left and right of the Weser, numerous other castles, aristocratic manors, churches, town halls and town houses were built at the same time as Schloss Erwitte. All of these buildings are mostly made of sandstone, which was quarried here, and have the same stylistic features, such as curved, elaborately decorated gables in the Italian style. The large number of these buildings in the wider area around the Weser coined the term Weser Renaissance as a kind of brand under which Schloss Erwitte can also be placed.

The sandstone castle consists of two storeys on a high basement. The imposing gabled roof is interrupted by irregularly arranged dormers. Belt cornices separate the individual storeys from each other. The building appears symmetrical when approached from the west via Schloßallee, which is lined with lime trees. This impression is reinforced by two evenly arranged continuous bay windows with ornamental gables, the entrance portal in the middle of the front, which is decorated with coats of arms and features two open staircases, and the regular forecourt with a circular flower bed in front of the portal. From here, it is not immediately obvious to the observer that this is a Wasserschloß. However, if you approach the castle from the east, the impression is completely different. Here, the castle pond in front and the Brockbach stream used as a moat characterize the image of a typical Wasserschloß. The dominant feature on this side of the building is the square, three-storey corner tower with a baroque dome in the north-east. Interestingly, this tower is not even visible when looking at the main portal from the front. Access from this side is via a sandstone-walled and cobbled bridge through a wrought-iron gate bearing the Erwitte coat of arms. A footpath, also paved with stones, runs at right angles to this between the pond and the moat.

The interior of the castle is spacious and stately. The furnishings reflect a successful mix of historical and modern elements, in keeping with the castle's current purpose. The largest room is the so-called Knights' Hall. It is located on the second floor directly behind the entrance hall and was probably once used for representative purposes. Today there is room for around 100 people. The cellar vault has also been converted for entertaining guests, making it a great setting for atmospheric celebrations.

Schloss Erwitte is not the only castle that Erwitte has to offer. Looking southwest from the entrance portal, you can see today's Marienhospital. This baroque building was formerly the castle of Droste zu Erwitte and was completed around 1703. It came into the von Hoerde family through marriage. The widow Kunigunde von Hoerde donated it to the parish church of St. Laurentius in Erwitte in 1860 on the condition that a hospital be established there. Several extensions were added to the historic building over the following decades.

Architecturally, it is a stately rectangular building with eleven window axes. The three rows of windows in the middle form a protruding part of the building with a baroque entrance portal. Apart from the entrance hall, nothing inside is reminiscent of its former use. All rooms have been designed and furnished for their current purpose.