The colourful façade of Haus Alst in Horstmar shimmers through the branches of its idyllic trees and only gives deeper insights to those who approach on foot or by bike. The magnificent Specklagen architectural style of the moated castle is revealed to them: red brick alternates with light yellow Baumberg sandstone. The special design of the walls is a real rarity in Münsterland.
Alst House was first mentioned in documents in 1217 as a fief of Werden Abbey. After the Lords of Münster zu Alst, it came into the possession of the Westphalian noble family von Westerholt in 1569. Bernhard Freiherr von Westerholt-Hackfort from the Dutch branch of the family became the owner through marriage in 1620. From 1624, he completely remodelled the two-storey manor house in the style of the Dutch Renaissance with red and yellow bacon plasterwork.
After several changes of ownership in the 19th century, the estate once again became the property of the Counts of Westerholt in 1935, who have preserved and lived in it to this day. From 1852 until his death in 1895, Haus Alst was the residence of Burkhardt Freiherr v. Schorlemer-Alst, the "Westphalian Peasant King". Paired with a romantic garden, Haus Alst makes the dream of a fairytale wedding come true for civil weddings.
The construction technique of the walls, reminiscent of strong hams, was a design feature of the Netherlands and Belgium in the 16th century. In the Münsterland region, only four houses with such masonry can be found; with Haus Alst and the Merveldter Hof, two of them in Horstmar.
Blue category: Private castles in MünsterlandI am a blue castle! I am privately inhabited and not accessible. Please regard me respectfully at a distance - I wave to you from afar ...
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