Westerwinkel Castle

Westerwinkel Castle is a Baroque water castle in the Ascheberg district of Herbern in the Münsterland region. It houses a museum that can be visited by appointment.

The existence of a castle complex in Westerwinkel is documented for the year 1225. There must have been a sturdy water structure there, protected by a double ditch system with ramparts that—attested during the time of the Thirty Years’ War—were so high that they almost completely obscured the lower row of windows. However, a fortification must have existed at this location at an earlier time. For example, it is documented that Count Arnold of Altena-Isenberg, who also held the title Count of Hövel, owned a fortification in the area of Westerwinkel around 1190. Westerwinkel belonged to the County of Werl until about the year 1000 and then, depending on which of the two theories one follows, either passed to the Counts of Arnsberg or directly to the Counts of Hövel. After the division of inheritance, Westerwinkel became an integral part of the County of Hövel either around 1003 or after 1124. Located on the northwestern edge of the Werl or Hövel county, Westerwinkel, along with Stockum, was a remote outpost on the fringe of Münster's area of interest. The strategic significance of the site is likely to correlate with the number of available sources, making the existence of a fortification at this time probable but not provable for the entire duration of the existence of the Counties of Werl and Hövel. This is even more true since no building substance from the original castle complex has been preserved, and no one can say what the castle complex originally looked like. However, during the time of Werl's rule, the village of Herbern, which now belongs to Ascheberg, already existed in its immediate vicinity. For its owner, there must have been a need to secure this possession on the northwestern edge of the county against potential invaders. Additionally, Herbern was located on the old trade route Münster – Dortmund – Cologne, the present-day B54, which passed through Herbern, underscoring the strategic importance of the site.

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