Wittringen Castle

Schloss Wittringen stands beside a moat in Gladbeck, a town in North Rhine-Westphalia. The water surrounds a manor house built in the Dutch Renaissance style. A forest and park stretch around the castle walls. The von Wittringen family first appears in records from 1263. Knight Ludolfus de Witteringe is thought to have built the castle at that time. Heinrich von Brachtbecke owned it in 1394. The city’s coat of arms still carries the three Wolfsangeln from Brachtbecke’s crest. The castle passed through several noble families over centuries. The von Oeffte family held half the estate from 1438 and later bought the rest. The Knights von Capellen received Wittringen as a dowry in the mid-16th century. Hessian troops looted the castle during the Thirty Years’ War in 1642. The city of Gladbeck purchased it in 1922 and restored the house to its original form. Since 1928 the building has housed the town museum and a restaurant. Visitors walk through rooms arranged as they were in the 17th century. The museum displays local history and art inside the manor. Outside, wide paths lead through woods and parkland. The Gladbeck Stadium lies nearby among the green spaces. The moat reflects the brick walls and tall windows. The Dutch Renaissance façade shows carved stone and symmetrical gables.