Westerwinkel Castle, Ascheberg, Germany

Westerwinkel Castle is one of the earliest baroque castles in Westphalia. The closed four-winged complex was built in the middle of the 17th century. The castle changed hands several times. It came into the possession of the present lords of Westerwinkel, the Counts of Merveldt, in 1555 when Herman von Merveldt married Ursula von Diepenbrock, heiress daughter of Westerwinkel.

The castle was built in the middle of an English garden. It is a complex of moats whose origins can be traced to the early Baroque style and whose principles correspond to the moats of the castle in the Middle Ages. However, the moats were not dug for defensive purposes, as this system of defence was already obsolete at the time, but with an architectural objective that is representative of the Baroque style.

The entire complex extends over two rectangular islands, the buildings are on the eastern island, the garden is on the western island. Very striking are the different perspectives on the palace when walking around the historic complex.

References:

muensterland.com

Visby Cathedral

Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.

Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.

There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.

zbyglus (3 years ago)
Beautiful castle

Tony King (4 years ago)
There is really not s lot to see here! The Schloss is substantially a very new reconstruction and operates as a hotel for bikers including not a few geriatric "bike hogs" A pleasant short walk but that's about all.

Marcus Bennemann (5 years ago)
Great Golf parcour around an old Water Castle

Mahmoud Fbi (6 years ago)
Nice place

Westerwinkel Castle

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