Haus Heithoff

Haus Heithoff was a small moated castle in the Emscher valley, now part of Dortmund’s Schüren district. It stood on land covered with heather, giving the place its name. The castle guarded the border between the free imperial city of Dortmund and the County of Mark. First mentioned in 1302 as Haus zu Schüren, it belonged to Ritter Heinrich von Apelderbecke. Later owners included the lords of Altena, the Voss family and the Werminkhusen knights. By the 17th century the von Aschebergs had taken charge, followed by the von Plettenbergs until 1805. The castle was a solid sandstone building surrounded by a moat fed by the Emscher. A rectangular gatehouse was all that remained of the original complex. A brick chapel dedicated to St Anthony once stood there, but it fell into ruin. Four broken stones from its rose window now lie in Hörde’s Phoenix Grammar School. By the 17th century the castle had heavy walls, a drawbridge and a staircase leading up to the main house. Nearby stood brick farm buildings and a water-powered mill that ground grain and pressed oil. Today the second sports field of Schüren covers the site. The old moat has been filled in and the gatehouse long gone. Remains of window tracery, pillars and cornices were rescued before demolition and taken to the school. The Emscher still flows a few metres away, but nothing of the castle’s walls or its mill remains above ground.