Horst Castle (German: Schloss Horst), located in the Horst district of Gelsenkirchen, is recognized as one of Westphalia's oldest and most significant Renaissance buildings.E. Alshut, H.-W. Peine: Schloss Horst in Gelsenkirchen, 2006, pp. 3. During its construction in the 16th century, it ranked among the largest four-winged castle complexes north of the Alps,K. Gorzny: Emscherschlösser, 2001, pp. 44. significantly influencing the architectural style of the Lippe Renaissance. On 15 December 1983 it was declared a listed building.
Overview As early as the 11th century, a farmstead was situated on an island in the marshy area between two arms of the Emscher. Its inhabitants possibly fished for the Emscherbrücher thick heads native to the Emscherbruch quarry.H.-W. Peine, C. Kneppe: Haus Horst im Emscherbruch, 2004, pp. 12. Over time, this evolved into a castle complex that faced two devastating fires. In the aftermath of the second fire, the owner at the time, Rütger von der Horst, chose to rebuild the castle fully, resulting in its completion in 1578. The Renaissance building is of great significance to art history on a supra-regional level due to its architectural sculptures.H. Polenz: Schloß Horst. Ein Renaissance-Denkmal wird gerettet, , o. S.
In the 19th century, the castle suffered significant damage due to dilapidation, resulting in large parts being either collapsed or demolished. The von Fürstenberg family, owner of the castle at the time, attempted to salvage the valuable façade decoration and high-quality architectural sculptures, referred to as the stone treasure, by storing the fragments. The few remnant sections of the structure that were not demolished deteriorated over time. In 1985, a group of citizens founded an initiative to prevent the castle's ruin and explore potential long-term uses for the site. At their request, Gelsenkirchen purchased Horst Castle and conducted extensive historical and archaeological investigations. Currently, the castle is one of the most well-researched examples of Renaissance architecture in North-West Germany. Following restoration and partial reconstruction, it serves as a museum, restaurant, registry office, and event venue.
History
Residents and owners
The noble lineage of the Horst Lords dates back to the 12th century, originating from what is now Essen. Starting around 1200, the dynasty's members were marshals of the Essen Abbey, associated with overseeing the game in the Emscherbruch area and the privilege of capturing Emscherbruch horses. Since 1363, they have been referenced as feudatories of the Counts of Cleves and successfully maintained their property's independence against the nearby Archbishopric of Cologne for an extended period.A. Kracht: Burgen und Schlösser im Sauerland, Siegerland, Hellweg, Industriegebiet, 1976, pp. 280. However, the knights of Horst had taken jurisdiction over the parishes of Gladbeck and Buer, which were part of the Electorate of Cologne's territory. Therefore, in 1410/11, the Archbishop of Cologne, Friedrich of Saarwerden, initiated legal proceedings against them. Consequently, the family had to comply with the archbishopric in 1412.C. Kneppe: Schloss Horst, 2010, pp. 211. Rütger von der Horst swore allegiance to the Archbishop of Cologne, which led to the incorporation of the once-independent lordship into the Vest Recklinghausen of the archbishopric. He was granted the lordship as a fief of the Electorate of Cologne in exchange for his services.Walther Zimmermann, Hugo Borger (Hrsg.): Handbuch der historischen Stätten Deutschlands. Band 3: Nordrhein-Westfalen (= Kröners Taschenausgabe. Band 273). Kröner, Stuttgart 1963, pp. 299. With the annexation of Horst to the territory of Cologne, the efforts of the Counts of the Mark and the Counts of Berg to acquire Horst Castle or at least secure a right to open it, which were documented at least in 1315 and 1349, had finally failed.H.-W. Peine, C. Kneppe: Haus Horst im Emscherbruch, 2004, pp. 27.
The castle's builder, also named Rütger, inherited sole possession of the Hues zor Horst on 21 May 1547.E. Alshut, H.-W. Peine: Schloss Horst in Gelsenkirchen, 2006, pp. 11. He served as marshal under six Cologne electors, and Archbishop Salentin von Isenburg appointed him governor of Cologne in the Vest Recklinghausen shortly before his abdication. Rütger oversaw the construction of a new building on the site of the old castle but died only four years after the construction's completion in 1578. Rütger's heiress daughter, Margarethe, transferred the castle to the von Loë family of Palsterkamp und Geist through her marriage in 1582. The new castle lord, Bertram von Loë, also left no male heir. Sibylla, one of his two daughters, inherited Horst Castle, and the estate, which she brought as a dowry into her marriage to Dietrich von der Recke in 1607.G. Griese: Burg und Schloss Horst, 1960, pp. 82.
On 9 June 1706, a descendant of Dietrich von der Recke, Baron Hermann Dietrich von der Recke, sold the castle and estate of Horst to Baron Ferdinand von Fürstenberg for approximately 100,000 Reichstaler. Hermann Dietrich's nephew contested the sale and brought the matter before the Imperial Chamber Court. The trial did not conclude until 1802. The Fürstenberg family was required to pay 76,000 thalers in compensation to Count of Westerholt-Gysenberg, to whom the claims had meanwhile been transferred.G. Griese: Burg und Schloss Horst, 1960, pp. 83. The von Fürstenbergs never used the estate as a permanent residence, preferring to reside in one of the family's numerous other castles, including Herdringen Castle, Schellenberg Castle, or Adolfsburg Castle.W. Apfeld: Die bauhistorische Entwicklung von Schloß Horst, 1991, pp. 52, Anm. 35. In 1730, Christian von Fürstenberg ultimately dissolved the Horst household. In the subsequent years, the outer castle was leased for agricultural purposes, while a rent master managed the castle.
From the 1920s onwards, the site was repurposed as a public recreation center. In the 1970s, a discotheque was added to the café established in the basement at the time. At the start of 1985, a citizens' initiative was established, advocating for the preservation and new use of the historic building. Plans were developed to establish a training center, hotel, or dance sports center in Schloss Horst.L. Heidemann: Wie »rettet« man ein Renaissance-Schloß?, 1991, pp. 39. In 1988, the city of Gelsenkirchen acquired the castle ruins for DM 650,000 and had them partially rebuilt.
Architectural history
Predecessor buildings Archaeological excavations on the castle grounds indicate the existence of a farmstead at the site of the Horst outer bailey during the 11th and 12th centuries. This consisted of a six to seven-metre-wide and eleven to twelve-metre-long post-and-beam house with two rooms, which traces of posts and sill beacons can verify.E. Alshut, H.-W. Peine: Schloss Horst in Gelsenkirchen, 2006, pp. 5.H.-W. Peine, C. Kneppe: Haus Horst im Emscherbruch, 2004, pp. 11. The construction and furnishings of the house, as well as the remains of tiled stoves and finds from the former inventory - including shards of blue glass with white thread - indicate that the inhabitants of the house were not simple peasants, but of a higher class. In the late 12th century, this farmstead was expanded - likely at the behest of the Essen Abbey - by Gerhard von der Horst into a wooden fortification known as a motte, serving to secure the abbey's borders and protect its farms in the region.G. Griese: Burg und Schloss Horst, 1960, pp. 75. The motte was built using an artificial earth mound with a nearly 40-metre diameter and nearly two-metre height.H.-W. Peine, C. Kneppe: Haus Horst im Emscherbruch, 2004, pp. 14. During that period, the castle comprised a principal building, a polygonal tower measuring 6 to 6.5 metres in diameter,H.-W. Peine, C. Kneppe: Haus Horst im Emscherbruch, 2004, pp. 15. and two additional wooden outbuildings located at the base of the hill. These structures were surrounded by a parapet wall with battlements,H.-W. Peine, C. Kneppe: Haus Horst im Emscherbruch, 2004, pp. 14–15. while a moat in front of the castle was fortified with another palisade. Moreover, the Horst complex included an outer bailey situated to the west of the core castle, and this area was joined to the latter by a bridge.E. Alshut, H.-W. Peine: Schloss Horst in Gelsenkirchen, 2006, pp. 8.
Not long after its construction, this wooden tower hill fort was destroyed by fire. The catastrophic fire may have occurred during the turmoil following the assassination of Cologne's Archbishop Engelbert von Berg in 1225.E. Alshut, H.-W. Peine: Schloss Horst in Gelsenkirchen, 2006, pp. 10. Gerhard von der Horst then replaced the remains of the wooden/earth fortification with a solid stone house measuring 11 × 7.5 metres or a residential tower with 1.2 metre thick walls and had the building surrounded by a curtain wall.H.-W. Peine, C. Kneppe: Haus Horst im Emscherbruch, 2004, pp. 22. The castle mound had previously been raised by at least 1.5 metres.
Horst House was first mentioned in a document as a castle in 1282, when the Roman-German King Rudolf von Habsburg allowed the knight Arnold of Horst to further fortify the freedom located next to his "castrum horst" (castrum = castle; also spelt hoirst, hurst and hoerst in old documents), which was surrounded by a moat, and granted this settlement town rights at the same time. Nothing remains of this former freedom today; it disappeared in the course of industrialisation during construction and transport projects. It was located roughly where Horster Burgstrasse runs today.G. Griese: Burg und Schloss Horst, 1960, pp. 74.
In 1295, a chaplain for Horst was mentioned, suggesting the presence of a castle chapel.E. Alshut, H.-W. Peine: Schloss Horst in Gelsenkirchen, 2006, pp. 22. Excavations in the outer castle area revealed that this chapel had already existed in the preceding century, as the excavators discovered 1.5-meter-thick foundations of a chapel whose origins dated back to the 12th century. The first Horst castle chapel was a hall of approximately 13 × 15 meters with an apsidally closed choir.E. Alshut, H.-W. Peine: Schloss Horst in Gelsenkirchen, 2006, pp. 23. The nave's clear width was 6.6 × 4.2 meters.H.-W. Peine, C. Kneppe: Haus Horst im Emscherbruch, 2004, pp. 21. A document from 1411 names Saint Hippolytus as its patron saint, reflecting the Lords of Horst's association with the horse industry, a significant source of income. Below the choir was a crypt-like substructure with four burial chambers, presumably for members of the castle lord's family. The chapel was remodelled in the late Middle Ages, receiving a vault and an enlarged polygonal building to replace its choir. Extensions were also added to the northeast side. Presumably in 1590, the Horst chapel was elevated to parish church status. It stood in the outer bailey until 1753 when it was succeeded by the present church of St. Hippolytus.H.-W. Peine, C. Kneppe: Haus Horst im Emscherbruch, 2004, pp. 32.