Schloss Eringerfeld

Schloss Eringerfeld stands in the village of Eringerfeld, near Geseke in the Arnsberg region. Built in 1676 as a Baroque residence, it was commissioned after a fire destroyed parts of the old estate. The rebuilding was funded by two canons from the von Hörde family, Johann Gottfried and Rhabanus Christoph. The architect Ambrosius von Oelde and master builder Jobst Scheck from Störmede oversaw its construction over twenty-three years. The estate passed through several noble families, including the Kettelers, who produced the politician Friedrich Clemens von Ketteler and his grandson Wilhelm, murdered by the Nazis.

The castle has served many purposes since then. After standing empty for years, Jesuits ran a novitiate there from 1950 to 1964. Later, the Kirchner family restored the crumbling structure and turned it into the largest boarding school in Germany. For two decades it housed hundreds of pupils before becoming a hotel. Between 2000 and 2005 it briefly operated as a school for highly gifted children. Recent plans to reopen it as an international boarding school have stalled, and the property is now on the market once more.

Visitors approach through an entrance framed by stone gateways. Inside, thick walls and preserved furnishings recall its noble past. The restored Baroque garden returns the grounds to their original design. The main building’s grand staircase and panelled rooms remain largely intact. Outbuildings from the school era now serve the hotel and restaurant. Views stretch across the surrounding countryside, linking the estate to the gentle landscape of western Germany.