Cultural Events
CastleEspelkamp - Gestringen
Benkhausen Castle
Benkhausen Castle is located west of Gestringen, a district belonging to the city of Espelkamp, and north of the Mittelland Canal in the Minden-Lübbecke district. The total area, currently comprising approximately five hectares, also includes a historic castle park, which was once geometrically structured with avenues. Parts of the old tree population, including, for example, a copper beech, a Dutch lime, and an American walnut tree, are still preserved in the northeastern part of the park.
The Benkhausen estate was established in 1510 through the division of the Ellerburg estate among the heirs of the von Münch family. Between 1657 and 1683, the castle was built and largely remained in this form. Philip Münch bequeathed the estate in 1773 to the von dem Bussche family, who thereafter called themselves von dem Bussche-Münch.
The estate was confiscated in 1945 by the British occupation forces and used as the headquarters of the British Army of the Rhine, and from 1952 also as the command post of the British Navy. In 1962, Benkhausen estate was sold to the Diakonische Stiftung Wittekindshof e.V. and used until 2009 as a residential and operational facility for people with disabilities. When structural safety requirements could no longer be met, its use was abandoned, resulting in the property being vacant from 2009. At the end of 2010, the Espelkamp entrepreneurial family Gauselmann acquired Benkhausen Castle with all its outbuildings and the park, and from 2011 to 2013 converted it into a training center with accommodation facilities. In addition to seminar operations, traditional events such as the Christmas market, art week, and other cultural events, as well as civil weddings, continue to take place.
Benkhausen Estate District
Around 1856, a Benkhausen estate district, which was equivalent to a municipality, was newly formed by separation from the municipality of Alswede. On October 1, 1928, it was dissolved and incorporated into the then municipalities of Alswede (main part) and Fabbenstedt.
Details of the Renovation+
The complete conversion into a modern training center was divided into several stages. First, the manor house was gutted from the cellar to the attic, renovated, and redesigned. During this process, historical fireplace installations and stucco work, as well as parts of the approximately 500-year-old original half-timbering, were uncovered. With the help of old records and site plans from the 18th century, the original room layout was restored. In a second construction phase, the glass connecting building with elevator, reception, and training and breakfast room between the manor house and the former "Maidenheim" was realized. The third stage involved the structural redesign and furnishing of the hotel complex, the comprehensive renovation of the barn and its establishment as a museum, as well as the redesign of the park and the castle courtyard. The geometrically designed castle park in the north, laid out according to historical plans, with a huge pavilion as its centerpiece, and the integration of the hereditary burial site of the von Münch family, are among the areas that have been made freely accessible to the public.
Current Use+
The Benkhausen Castle training center has eleven conference rooms and 31 hotel rooms and is used by subsidiaries of the Gauselmann Group and other companies for events of all kinds, further training, conferences, and workshops. In the former barn of Benkhausen Castle, the German Automatenmuseum also presents a thematically structured permanent exhibition. The Gauselmann family's private coin-operated machine collection comprises more than 1,800 exhibits and is considered the largest industry museum worldwide.
Take Mobile History with you
You are reading this text for free. Premium adds what matters on the road: descriptions read aloud, sites found through your camera, whole regions taken offline.
- Every description, including the ~17,700 Premium sites
- Audio guide: have descriptions read to you on location
- AR finder: see sites through your camera, with distance and bearing
- Unlimited saved sites
14 days free, then from €2.99 a month. Cancel anytime.
Location: 52.3450, 8.5756