Haus Bamenohl is a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

in the village of Bamenohl, municipality of

Finnentrop Finnentrop is a ''Gemeinde'' (municipality) in Olpe district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Finnentrop is situated in the Sauerland, near the forks of the rivers Bigge and Lenne. Finnentrop shares borders with Sundern and Eslo ...

, Olpe district in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

History

14th to 17th century

The first owner of the Haus Bamenohl was probably the family ''von Hundem genannt Pepersack''. By marriage, the ''von Heygen'' family came into the possession of Bamenohl. On March 5, 1324 ''Bawenole inferiore'' was first mentioned in a document by ''Herbord von Heygen''. The cellar vaults and the 2-meter thick walls suggest construction during the 14th or 15th century. At this time there was already a chapel, which is mentioned for the first time in 1362. Around 1433 the von Plettenberg family came into possession of Haus Bamenohl. In the 16th century the property was divided into a so-called "lower house" (''Niederbamenohl'' and an "upper house" (''Oberbamenohl'') referring to the direction of the nearby

Lenne The Lenne () is a tributary of the river Ruhr in the Sauerland hills, western Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north a ...

river. The lower house was a part of the present castle core, the upper house was situated only a few meters southwest of it. In 1647, ''Adam Vogt von Elspe'' built a new house, today the east wing of the castle, ''IN GREAT WAR AND STRIFE AND REPULSIVENESS'', as inscribed on a stone, referring to the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

that ravaged

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

at this time. The new building could only outlast the war because the family had several letters of protection, sparing the house from robbery and looting.

18th century

In 1781 ''Moritz Georg Vogt von Elspe'' called ''Voss zu Rodenberg'' and the last Vogt von Elspe, owner of the lower house, purchased the upper house from

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...

''Caroline von Dalwigk zu Neuenheerse'' and thus united Oberbamenohl and Niederbamenohl. In 1784, the buildings of the upper house were demolished. When Moritz Georg died, his niece ''Christine Anna Luise Gisbertine von Bodelschwingh'' (* 1766 Haus Bodelschwingh, † 1833 ibid.), inherited the estates of Oevinghausen, Schwerte, Westhemmerde, Werl, Bamenohl and Borghausen. Through her marriage to

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...

''Karl Wilhelm Georg von Plettenberg'' (* 1765 Haus Heeren, † 1850 on Draiser Hof), Erbmarschall (hereditary

marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

) of the

County of Mark The County of Mark (, colloquially known as ) was a county and Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay south of Lippe (river), Lippe river on both sides of the Ruhr river along the Volme a ...

, Grand Master of the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

, in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

and Grand Master of the Order of Freemasons, Haus Bamenohl returned to the Plettenberg family. He later added his wife's last name to his own. His son Freiherr ''Gisbert von Bodelschwingh-Plettenberg'' (* 1790 Haus Bodelschwingh, † 1866 ibid.) inherited Bamenohl, Borghausen, Bodelschwingh, Schwarzenberg, Rodenberg, Schörlingen, as well as Geretzhoven, Katz and Katzcherhof in the

Duchy of Jülich The Duchy of Jülich (; ; ) comprised a state within the Holy Roman Empire from the 11th to the 18th centuries. The duchy lay west of the Rhine river and was bordered by the Electorate of Cologne to the east and the Duchy of Limburg to the wes ...

, Teschendorf in

Farther Pomerania Farther Pomerania, Hinder Pomerania, Rear Pomerania or Eastern Pomerania (; ), is a subregion of the historic region of Pomerania in north-western Poland, mostly within the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, while its easternmost parts are within the Po ...

, Drais in the

Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German language, German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what became the Germany, German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a States of the Confederation of th ...

and Huis Loowaard in the province of

Gelderland Gelderland ( , ), also known as Guelders ( ) in English, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...

. He was elected in 1826 for life to the Upper House of the Westphalian provincial parliament (Provinziallandtag).

19th and 20th century

The ruins of the upper house Oberbamenohl were removed in 1851 by the son of Gisbert,

Graf (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...

''Carl Gisbert Wilhelm von Bodelschwingh-Plettenberg'' (* 1821 Burg Geretzhoven, † 1907 Haus Bodelschwingh) who also filled the

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

that surrounded the property from three sides. In addition, he upgraded from 1851 to 1853 the former lower house Niederbamenohl (today's castle) to its present appearance. In particular, he built the tower and set up the

English landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (, , , , ), is a style of "landscape" garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal ...

. After the death of his father, Carl moved to Haus Bodelschwingh in 1866 and handed over Haus Bamenohl to his brother ''Adolf Eugen Ludwig von Bodelschwingh-Plettenberg'' (* 1826 Burg Geretzhoven, † 1902 Haus Heeren). 1856 he married his cousin ''Bertha von Plettenberg-Heeren'' (* 1832, † 1900), owner of the etates Heeren, Hilbeck, Werve and Hahnen. The couple moved to Haus Heeren and Haus Bamenohl was used as summer residence. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Haus Bamenohl served as accommodation for

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s from the

former eastern territories of Germany In present-day Germany, the former eastern territories of Germany () refer to those territories east of the current eastern border of Germany, i.e. the Oder–Neisse line, which historically had been considered German and which were annexed b ...

, later it was converted into a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...

, leaving a run-down building in 1967 when it closed. After a vacancy of about 20 years, a successive renovation of the castle and the three surrounding buildings ( Forester's lodge,

barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Allen G ...

and

carriage house A ''carriage house'', also called a ''remise'' or ''coach house'', is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two ...

) began.

Today

The ensemble of castle, courtyard and garden with its ponds is a listed

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by socie ...

site. The buildings are inhabited, but visits to the castle and gardens are possible by prior arrangement. Rooms on the ground floor can be rented for events, especially civil marriages. The annual

Open-air concert A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or holi ...

s in the courtyard have become a popular event on the third weekend of August.

References

External links

Haus Bamenohl website
{{Authority control Castles in North Rhine-Westphalia