Neuenhof Castle

Neuenhof Castle is one of the art-historically and city-historically outstanding architectural monuments of Lüdenscheid. The moated castle is located in the south of the city in the Elspetal valley. A signposted road branches off from the B 229. As the complex is inhabited by the owner, Alhard Graf von dem Bussche-Kessell, the interior cannot be visited.

The castle was first mentioned in documents in 1326. Other documents and Neuenhof's location on a long-distance route suggest that it was originally a fortified castle complex. Archaeological finds from 1981 prove that a medieval castle already occupied the site of today's moated castle. Immediately at the foundations, shards of utility pottery from the 14th century were found in the current moat. In 1643, the main house of the castle had been newly built. This was partly on the foundations of the medieval predecessor building. In 1693, the main house was severely damaged by fire. Reconstruction, including various extensions, took place until 1695. The outer walls of the 1643 building were reused as interior walls, and the corner pavilions or towers on the east side were created. Numerous other structural changes occurred in the 18th century. In 1746, the striking central risalit between the towers was built. The last significant stage in the building's history was the new construction of the northern outer bailey in 1808.

The castle is the ancestral seat of the noble family von Neuhoff. The last namesake on site, Elisabeth Josina von Neuhoff, married Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Leopold Christian von Bottlenberg, a member of a Bergish noble family, in 1714. Josina's grandfather, Steffen von Neuhoff (1608–1671), had the first post-medieval building erected in 1643. The last von Bottlenberg to permanently reside at Neuenhof died unmarried in 1820. His heir was Julius Clamor Freiherr von dem Bussche-Ippenburg, elevated by the Prussian king in 1840 to Graf von dem Bussche-Ippenburg genannt von Kessell. His descendants no longer resided in Neuenhof until the 1970s, but at Ippenburg Castle.

Prisoners of war and forced laborers were housed in the forestry operation of Neuenhof Castle in 1943 and 1944 and, according to later testimonies, were treated inhumanely. After the Second World War, large parts of the manor were confiscated for many years by the Belgian military command. Otherwise, civilian use was limited to forestry administration and agriculture. In the southern economic wing were cow sheds where long-term premium milk was produced. It was not until 1974 that Alhard Graf von dem Bussche-Kessell permanently reoccupied the castle.