Rustenhof, Brakel, OT Istrup

The Herrenhaus Rustenhof is a noble estate standing slightly above a valley, two kilometres east of Istrup, a district of Brakel in the Höxter district of North Rhine-Westphalia. It overlooks fields and distant woods from its raised position. The house belongs to the Hinnenburg estate group, which passed from the von Brakel family to the von der Asseburg family over generations. The first written record of the seat dates from 1372, when a knight named Hermann von Brakel granted it to his wife as a widow’s estate. During the Second World War the property was sold to the von und zur Mühlen family, who lived at Haus Merlsheim. The present building rises only one full storey above a high stone basement. Traces of earlier structures remain inside its walls, hinted at by an old garderobe projection. Built of roughly hewn stones, it carries a low hipped roof. A lime-tree avenue leads up to the Bartholomäuskapelle, a small chapel whose entrance shows the date 1723 carved above the door. The chapel stands higher on the slope and is reached by a gentle path lined with old trees. Visitors walk along the avenue of limes to reach the chapel, where the date stone marks the early eighteenth century. The chapel’s simple interior contains a small altar and benches for quiet reflection. From the raised site there are wide views across the surrounding countryside. The estate itself is private, but the chapel and its approach are accessible and give a sense of the estate’s long history.