Haus Kemnade

Haus Kemnade is a moated castle in the Blankenstein district of Hattingen. Its name – derived from the word "Kemenate" – shows that the noble residence stood out from the surrounding farmhouses of the time by having at least one masonry chimney.

Until 1486 the property lay on the northern bank of the Ruhr on the territory of Stiepel. After a flood in that year the river changed its course northwards, so that Haus Kemnade has since lain separated from the village in the southern Ruhr meadows. An oxbow of the Ruhr recalls the old course.

As a fief of the House of Lippe it was from the 13th century in the possession of the von Dücker family. They were followed by the von der Recke family as feoffees. After a fire in 1589 the owners had it gradually rebuilt by 1704. At the end of the 18th century a farmyard was added.

Although it stands on Hattingen territory, Haus Kemnade is today the property of the city of Bochum, which acquired it in 1921 from Ludwig von Berswordt-Wallrabe. The complex houses several museums and a restaurant.

Machine-translated from “Haus Kemnade” on the German Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Haus Kemnade ranks #4,807 of 7,044 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #374 of the 475 mapped in Germany. See how Germany compares in the castle statistics.

View on the interactive castle map →

Read the full history on Wikipedia (in German) ↗