Schloss Beck (''Beck Castle'') is a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

castle in

Bottrop Bottrop () is a city in west-central Germany, on the Rhine–Herne Canal, in North Rhine-Westphalia. Located in the Ruhr area, Ruhr industrial area, Bottrop adjoins Essen, Oberhausen, Gladbeck, and Dorsten. The city had been a coal-mining and ...

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 ...

, planned and built as a “maison de plaisance” between 1766 and 1777 by

Johann Conrad Schlaun Johann Conrad Schlaun (June 5, 1695, in Nörde now Warburg – October 21, 1773, in Münster) was a German architect. He is an important architect of the Westphalian Baroque architectural style. His designs include the Erbdrostenhof and Schlos ...

. It is currently run as an

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

History

Although the building was designed as a palatial residence, by the end of the 18th century Beck Castle had become a distillery for

schnaps Schnapps ( or ) or schnaps is a type of alcoholic beverage that may take several forms, including distilled fruit brandies, herbal liqueurs, infusions, and "flavored liqueurs" made by adding fruit syrups, spices, or artificial flavorings to n ...

. It came into the possession of the Metternich family around 1850. Despite the

Second World War 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 ...

the castle remained intact, and in 1958 the

Hibernia Mining Society () is the Classical Latin name for Ireland. The name ''Hibernia'' was taken from Greek geographical accounts. During his exploration of northwest Europe (), Pytheas of Massalia called the island ''Iérnē'' (written ). In his book ''Geograp ...

bought the property. However, Hibernia was only interested in the grounds, and offered the castle building to all interested parties for free. Because of the responsibility and the expense of maintaining it, nobody wanted to acquire it until 1966, when a certain Karl Kuchenbäcker bought it. Because of years of neglect, the castle had to be completely restored, and to provide money for the restoration Kuchenbäcker opened it to the public. Following Kuchenbäcker's death (on 28 December 2004), his family put the castle and amusement park up for sale. It is now a protected historical monument.

The amusement park

Beck Castle is very popular with people in the surrounding area, especially for children from 3 to 14 years, because this small theme park is not well known and is rarely overcrowded. For the locals, it is a place to go with the family to enjoy the peace and quiet and to let the children play safely. The park management offers Christmas parties and weddings in large public rooms, as well as nightly dances and recitations. Beck's moated castle, which is a baroque architectural monument in Westphalia, include a haunted cellar. The attractions include: * Wendy house * Bumper cars * Adventure simulator * Trampolines * Horse-drawn carriages * A

diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional model either full-sized or miniature. Sometimes dioramas are enclosed in a glass showcase at a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies like mili ...

with 1000 moving figures in the castle * A haunted basement *

Railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

* Nature studies path * Cart track * Playground * Big wheel * Swing boats * Electric race track for horses * Places for barbecues * Paddle and rowing boats * Carousel with aeroplanes *

Roller coaster A roller coaster is a type of list of amusement rides, amusement ride employing a form of elevated Railway track, railroad track that carries passengers on a roller coaster train, train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements, usua ...

References

External links

*
Schloss Beck web page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Schloss Amusement parks in Germany Buildings and structures in Bottrop Palaces in North Rhine-Westphalia Tourist attractions in North Rhine-Westphalia Baroque architecture in Germany Houses completed in 1777