"The beauty of the castle is not subject to any zeitgeist".

Ms Raitz von Frentz, what does the Stapel House mean to you?

It is my home. Everything in the world changes, but such a monument, which has been carefully guided through the centuries by our family, remains. The beauty of the castle is not subject to the spirit of the times. This permanence does me infinitely good. Havixbeck, for example, or Münster look completely different than they did when I was a child.

In 1967 your family moved into a new building within sight. Why did you leave the castle?

My mother inherited the estate in 1936 after the death of her hereditary uncle Fritz. From the age of nine she lived in Stapel and learned about a hardscrabble existence, especially in the icy winters. There was no heating and no electricity, only stoves and paraffin lamps. When my parents married in 1956 and they had seven children in seven years, we stayed as a family in the castle for the time being. Heating the many rooms continued to be a problem. One day my mother decided never to freeze again. Those were her decisive words and the reason for building our family home. When we moved in in January, my parents were relieved. In winter, you sometimes couldn't mop the halls in the castle because the water would have frozen.

How did you experience the move?

For my siblings and me it was also wonderful: suddenly we had our own room and no longer had to sleep on top of each other in bunk beds. In the left wing we lived in on the ground floor of the castle there was little space for children, instead there were several living and dining rooms. When we moved out, I was six.

Did you feel attached to the place at that time?

I have always loved Haus Stapel. It has something so perfect about it, though not in the sense of immaculate. We are talking about an old building with traces of use. That's why it's so authentic and stimulates the imagination. In the courtyard, I think that time has stood still. 200 years ago it looked exactly the same here.

At that time, Ernst Konstantin Freiherr von Droste zu Hülshoff had the neoclassical main house built for his family with 22 children.

The outbuildings to the left and right were completed in 1608, and the gatehouse was added in 1719. From 1819 to 1827, the main house was built for the extended family. So there are 100 years between the construction of the individual buildings of Haus Stapel - the fact that it nevertheless appears to have been cast from a single mould is thanks to August Reinking, the ingenious master builder of the main house. Although the family that moved into the castle consisted of 22 children, there were no grandchildren in the end. In 1880, my great-grandfather Klemens Freiherr Droste zu Hülshoff inherited it. He and his wife brought the grand piano that had been given to them as a wedding present. To this day it stands in the festival hall and is used for our concerts.

Haus Stapel represents your family history.

Yes, the property has been documented in the family for 800 years. Aunt Bertha, my grandfather's youngest sister, certainly contributed to my attachment. She was a loving, warm-hearted woman who spent her whole life in the castle in harmony and peace. Her flat was the most beautiful, especially because of the so-called Tiger Room. In Stapel we have the largest collection of historical landscape wallpaper in Westphalia, and Aunt Bertha's former living room contains a complete scene of a tiger hunt. The wallpaper was made in a manufactory in Paris in the 1820s when the house was built.

What role did your Aunt Bertha play for you?

She was a surrogate grandmother for me. When I visited her, we would sit on the sofa in the Tiger Room, drink tea and listen to classical music - wonderful songs that we now play in our house stack concerts. Aunt Bertha left her mark on me. Because my grandmother had died young, my mother's and her sister's aunts, including Bertha, felt they had to bring up these two girls. So my mother had a rather strained relationship with her aunts, for whom, by the way, it was a no-go when we moved out in 1967. They thought my parents were abandoning the tradition they had painstakingly preserved.

How do you assess this in retrospect?

My great aunts were very conservative. They said they didn't need electricity because it always worked without it. They thought a washing machine was newfangled stuff; for them it was normal to do the laundry in the river Aa like in the old days. Electric light didn't come until 1955; apart from tiny cottages, Stapel was probably the only house in the Münsterland to be connected to the electricity supply so late. In every respect, my great-aunts attached importance to tradition. My parents' attitude was, of course, more modern. Today I understand both sides.

In what way?

In the 1970s, the castle was to be sold. As owners, my parents saw no prospects in such a large house without heating and were worried that they could not afford it. They were looking for a buyer, but thank God they didn't find anyone. The castle costs endless effort and money, yes. It is a bottomless pit. But you can't sell an ancient family estate like Stapel. I was already of that opinion back then. Generations before us modestly put their demands on the back burner in order to preserve it.

Most of the 55 rooms in the castle are rented out. What characterises life there?

Some tenants are rarely there and use their rooms as studios or weekend residences. Eleven parties live there permanently, some for over 40 years, because who would move into a normal house once they have lived in such a castle? The rooms are too beautiful for that and the surroundings are too idyllic. Where else can you find so much space and peace? The quality and freedom at Haus Stapel are much appreciated by the residents. Heating is now available, but not yet in all flats.

The furnishings of the banqueting hall, which is only used for special occasions, are precious. What is the story behind its wall paintings?

Individual motifs from the Rhine landscapes depicted in the magnificent volume "A picturesque tour along the Rhine", published in London in 1820, were selected for the banqueting hall. A travelling artist probably offered to provide his services in stacks. The evening sky in the motif of Biebrich Palace was positioned in the ballroom in such a way that the real setting sun shines on the picture. An incredible meticulousness is evident. One has built for eternity.

Is it known why the choice fell on Rhineland landscapes?

No. The artist probably brought them to Havixbeck in a pattern book. According to an art expert, the design of the banqueting hall was probably intended as a kind of journey. In those days, people often stayed at their place of residence, took a carriage to Münster and back - that was it. The landscapes in the banqueting hall show us the romantic Rhineland. We travel without leaving the location. And when we look outside, we see the Münsterland park landscape here at home.

You already mentioned the concert series in the Festival Hall. How did the idea come about?

My mother made the first concerts possible almost 50 years ago. She was very fond of music and invited local musicians to play in the festival hall. When I met the soloist Heike Hallaschka, within a few days we had created our concept for classical song recitals with songs from the Romantic period. The festival hall with its sonorous old grand piano is made for this music. Heike Hallaschka can express all the drama of these profound texts with her dreamlike voice. At that time, people lived with death all the time and therefore much more seriously than today. Life could be extremely short, as the fate in Stapel proves: Maria Theresa, wife of Ernst Constantin, had to bury almost all her children. The last child died ten years after her.

The song recitals are at the same time a tribute to your ancestor, the famous Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, whose nephew was your great-grandfather.

Annette is almost exclusively referred to as a poet. But music was also important to her: she must have been a good singer, made music for her family and had her uncle Max teach her to compose. This work of Annette's unfortunately falls under the table in the public eye. We bring it out by presenting a piece she created at the beginning of each recital.

In 2020, picnic concerts were held in the courtyard for the first time.

Before that, due to the weather, I thought it was too much of a risk to hold a concert outside. When all the events were cancelled during the pandemic, we spontaneously thought about trying it open-air. Instead of offering a champagne bar as at our festival hall concerts, we called for people to bring a picnic. Some of our guests then dined sumptuously, with fine china, crystal glasses and silver cutlery. The
concerts were very well received, and we were lucky with the weather. It was a positive side effect of the pandemic. Now we will continue the series every summer.

Haus Stapel has served as a film set several times. Among others, the director Dominik Graf shot two historical films at your house. What was it like to see the castle in the film?

The filming was a highlight for us because we saw our own house with different eyes. For example, many of the windows are originals from the time of construction - I knew that, but never thought about it before. When the actress of Charlotte von Stein in the film "The Beloved Sisters" walked down the stairs in her elegant dress, we were fascinated by the atmosphere. The filmmakers consistently praise the authenticity. Other houses have been redecorated a thousand times in their respective eras, while Haus Stapel is furnished as it was in the 19th century.

With the designation as a "nationally valuable cultural monument" by the federal government, you have been promised funding in 2022 for the restoration of the palace in line with its status as a listed building. Where does the work begin?

We are very happy that our application for the programme has been approved. Over the next six years, we will gradually renovate the entire shell of the main house. Without the funding, the project would not be financially viable. So far, I have had work done in dribs and drabs, but the ravages of time are gnawing away at the building faster than we can react with our funds.

Another project concerns the park and garden. What is your goal there?

For a long time, this area has been treated stepmotherly by Stapel, as the building has constantly been the focus of interest. The park and garden have not been regarded as what they equally are: a monument. Originally, the area was planned on the drawing board as a geometric form and implemented at the palace. In the course of time, the lines of the baroque garden disappeared. Instead of vegetables, a meadow developed, and later they even planted conifers that grew for decades and looked terrible. Ten years ago, I had these trees cut down as a first measure. I am an enthusiastic gardener myself and would like to restore the grounds in a way that is appropriate for a listed building. We are now taking the next steps with a professionally developed park maintenance concept.

You describe the maintenance of Haus Stapel as a life's work. It is obvious that you have taken on this task with pleasure.

The task would be unthinkable if I didn't enjoy it so much. What happens to the castle is sometimes too nerve-wracking for that. I ran a small homeopathic medical practice in Minden, which I gave up in 2013. Everything together - the job, my family, the support of my parents and finally stacks - no longer worked in my life. If I had to manage a concrete block in Berlin, I would certainly not be filled with joy. The castle and the associated sense of purpose in what I do, on the other hand, inspire me.

What do you wish for the future of Haus Stapel?

One of my two sons will take it over. I wish him courage, because nothing works without courage. As a doctor, I had no idea about old buildings at the beginning. Learning by doing
is the motto. You are not born with the joy of such a task, but you grow with it. That's what made Haus Stapel my heart's project.