Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Wasserburg

Schloss Steinfurt or Schloss Burgsteinfurt (Steinfurt Castle) is located on an artificial island in the AA River. The castle is the oldest structure of its kind in Westphalia. It was first mentioned in documents in the year 1129, being a small square tower on a hill. A little later the original construction was added. During the centuries the castle was often rebuilt or extended. The Burgsteinfurt Castle complex consists of three elements. The upper castle is the oldest part, where the castle owners still live. The lower castle houses outbuildings, like barns, a coach house, a gate house and apartments for servants. The third part of the complex is a watermill. In 1421 the male line of the Steinfurt family was broken and Castle Steinfurt passed to the representative of the Bentheim family. He and his descendants called themselves Counts of Bentheim and Steinfurt. During the Thirty Years’ War the castle changed owners and was heavily damaged several times. It was finally restored betreen 1706 and 1715. Later several new baroque buildings were added. The castle - Burgsteinfurt’s most important building - is still inhabited by the noble Bentheim-Steinfurt family and is not open foir public.

Kasteel Doorwerth (Doorwerth Castle) is one of the oldest castles in the Netherlands with a history dating back to the 12th century. Historical documents mention the castle - probably wooden - as early as 1260. During that year it was besieged and burned to the ground. Twenty years later a second - stone - castle was also besieged and this time the bailey was burned down. Since 1280, the castle has developed into a picturesque complex with a main castle and outbuildings, like the gate house, coachhouse and stables around the forecourt. Doorwerth Castle reached its largest form just after the middle of the 16th century under the 15th Lord of Dorenweerd ( Kasteel Doorwerth was known in earlier times as Kasteel Dorenweerd ; the present spelling of its name dates from around 1800). By 1560 the castle had more or less reached its current appearance. When the castle was bought in 1837 by baron Van Brakell it was in a bad state (after it had been inhabited for many years) and restorations and modernization were necessary. But after the baron's death seven years later the castle again fell into neglect, which remained until 1910. It was bought by a retired artillery officer and again the castle was thoroughly restored, undoing some of the 19th century alterations and additions. After 1913 it was used as a Dutch Artillery Museum. The medieval castle was seriously damaged at the end of the World War II (1944). A new extensive restoration took about 37 years, which brought the castle back into its 18th-century state . Since the year of 1983 Ksteel Doorwerth and surrounding park are owned and managed by the Stichting Geldersch Landschap en Geldersche Kasteelen , a Dutch heritage foundation; castle and park are open for visitors.

Haus Welbergen (Welbergen Castle) is most probably one of the most beautiful hidden gems of Münsterland. Although the moated castle is not as well known as many other castles in Westphalia, it is in no way inferior to them in terms of beauty and charm. A Gräftenhof - a farmhouse surrounded by an articially moat - is already mentioned in 1282, on the spot where now Haus Welbergen stands. The "Herren von Welleberghe" lived on the estate from 1298 to 1330. In the middle of the 16th century it was converted into a moated castle; the moat is fed by the Gauxbach. In the eighteenth century the current size and style has been given shape. Haus Welbergen is built mainly of bricks and has sandstone window frames. After crossing a drawbridge one arrives on the forecourt, which is bordered by the gatehouse, farm buildings and stables on one side and by a wall with round corner turrets and a little chapel on the other side. In the middle of the inner courtyard of the castle is a small but very interesting garden. There have been several changes of ownership over the centuries until the more or less dilapidated castle was bought in 1929 by Dutch banker Jan Jordaan and his wife Bertha Jordaan - van Heek (daughter of well known Dutch textile entrepreneur Gerrit Jan van Heek). After the death of Bertha in 1960, the total possession of Haus Welbergen has been brought in a foundation: the Bertha Jordaan-van Heek stichting , with the purpose to maintain the entire property and the artistic exchange between Germany and the Netherlands. Nowadays Haus Welbergen is used for meetings and gatherings. The house and the art collection can be visited by groups and appointment. Public areas such as the forecourt, gardens and the park are open to the public.