Füchtel Manor

Through the amalgamation of several farming communities, the Füchtelmann estate of the Count of Vechta was established around 1200. In 1252, it passed to the Bishop of Münster, later by exchange to the Count of Oldenburg-Neubruchhausen, and finally in 1331 to the Lords of Elmendorff from Elmendorf on Lake Zwischenahn. They founded the Füchtel estate and built a castle.

This manor house was destroyed by fire during the Thirty Years' War. It is probable that the former servants' quarters were then set up as temporary accommodation and gradually expanded by later generations. This accounts for the various additions and extensions to the house.

In 1754, a chapel was built at the old house by Canon Christof von Elmendorff of Paderborn. In 1773, the Welpe estate came to Füchtel through Caspar Franz von Elmendorff. For almost 600 years, the Füchtel estate remained in the possession of the family of the Barons von Elmendorff (17 generations) without change.

The last owner was Cäcilie von Elmendorff, who was married to Baron von Droste Hülshoff. A daughter, Maria, married Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand Graf von Merveldt in Münster in 1898. She inherited the Füchtel estate, and in 1908 the Graf von Merveldt family settled there. Today, Andrea and Clemens Graf von Merveldt manage the estate in the fourth generation.