Bispinghof Castle (Nordwalde)

In contrast to Pröbstinghof, Bispinghof was directly subordinate to the Bishop of Münster (despite the division of goods between the bishop and the cathedral chapter). The Schulze of Bispinghof held a kind of secular viceregal function for the Bishop of Münster. The official and legal authority of the Schulze, derived from the bishop, extended beyond the boundaries of Bispinghof to other farms in the Nordwalde church district (cf. parish) and encompassed, on the one hand, manorial jurisdiction, within which he acted as a peasant judge deciding legal cases in the church district. This judicial power is reflected in the three hornbeams (court trees) and the executioner's sword in the current municipal coat of arms of Nordwalde, whose heraldry is based on the coat of arms of the Nordwalde Schulze. On the other hand, the Schulze was responsible for the episcopal administration and local legislation in the church district under his authority. Always on Epiphany (January 6) and on the Sunday after St. James's Day (July 25), the Schulze summoned all farmers of the Nordwalde farms under his authority to the so-called "Hofsprache" (court language). The Schulze used these dates to officially announce new local legal provisions. For this purpose, the updated Hoffsrulle (Middle Low German for court roll), a kind of municipal ordinance, was publicly read aloud. Many of his provisions issued at that time have been handed down to this day. This regular appeal also served as a census, for which the farmers had to report current figures on the development of the rural population. Furthermore, the Schulze was allowed to grant temporary ecclesiastical asylum on the grounds of Bispinghof.

Today, the Bürgerstiftung Bispinghof Nordwalde (Bispinghof Nordwalde Civic Foundation) is located here.