Gatehouse House Holtwick

As early as the Middle Ages, a place of gathering and togetherness was founded at the historic site around Haus Holtwick. Even today, the historic gatehouse in Rosendahl, as the oldest building in the village, is a special reminder of the earliest settlement times. At the same time, the monument has been given a new multifaceted purpose as a meeting place with a multi-generation park.

The gatehouse of Haus Holtwick, dating from 1670, is the last stone witness to a medieval castle complex with influential noble inhabitants. With its simple anchor beams, it shines as an architectural jewel of West Münsterland half-timbered art.

Weir and prestige

The first mention of the house is in 890 AD under the name "Hof tor Horst" as a farmstead with peasant settlements and from 1292 onwards as a knight's fiefdom. The castle itself was equipped with cellars, a bakehouse, a coach house, many chambers, an outer castle and a wall. In 1643, the noble Droste zu Vischering family turned the enormously influential manor into a magnificent farm. Various tenants continued to look after the estate in the service of the family until they sold the entire property to the Rosendahl municipality in 1995.

The gatehouse, which at that time could only be reached by a drawbridge over a huge moat, served a dual purpose: on the one hand, the building with embrasures served as a defence and security for the farm. On the other hand, the complex with its elaborate ornamentation and details represented the high status and social influence of Haus Holtwick. This charisma was reinforced with rooms inside the gatehouse, such as a smokehouse, a coach house, stable boxes, a potato chamber and an attic for harvest produce.

Map | Torhaus Haus Holtwick