About the castle

History

Bentheim Castle is the largest hilltop castle in northwest Germany and has been owned by the Counts and Princes of Bentheim and Steinfurt for five centuries.

The beginnings of Bentheim Castle cannot be proven by historical sources. The first early mention of the hilltop castle dates back to 1050. After wars, military campaigns and epidemics, the castle was extensively extended between 1883 and 1914.

Although the Princely Family defines itself today as a modern business family, it also feels obliged — beyond its economic activities — to make a contribution to the historical and cultural identity of its region.

Today, H.S.H. Carl Ferdinand Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt, born in 1977, manages the fortunes of Burg Bentheim.

POWDER TOWER (PULVERTURM)

The 30 metre high keep, with the oldest parts dating from the 11th and 12th centuries, was built as a lookout and watchtower. It also served as a last refuge in case of danger. The 12 metre deep dungeon served as a prison as well as a storehouse and powder room. Today, the viewing platform, which can be reached via 63 steps, offers an enormous panoramic view.

STABLE (MARSTALL) EXHIBITION ‘TREASURES OF GOLD AND SILVER’

The stables, 18th century, housed the horse stables in the basement. Today it houses an event room for digital castle tours. On the middle floor, the former servants’ quarters, there is now an exhibition with the “Golden Cup of Gölenkamp”, a selection of the castle’s own historical coins as well as the bowl of the Geussen and a number of historical writings, mainly from the 15th century.

BATTERY TOWER (BATTERIETURM)

The two-storey battery tower, 15th century, with its 5–6 m thick masonry, was used to defend the south wing of the castle. In the upper gun room there was a horse mill to ensure the supply of flour in the event of a siege. Today it houses an alchemy laboratory. The basement, the lower gun room, was also used as a prison.

WEDDING ROOM (TRAUZIMMER)

The stylish and historic Ernst-August-Salon in the Kronenburg is available for civil weddings.

CROWN CASTLE (KRONENBURG)

After war damage in the 18th century, the castle had become uninhabitable and was used as a prison from 1817 to 1865. It was not until 1883 that Prince Alexis II commissioned the architect Franz Anton Nordhoff to convert the Palas, the residential wing of the castle lords in the Middle Ages, into a contemporary aristocratic residence.

CARRIAGE HOUSE (KUTSCHENHAUS)

In the 18th and 19th centuries, horse-drawn carriages were an indispensable requisite of a lifestyle befitting one’s rank. In addition to carriages with canopies or folding tops, hunting and travelling carriages, single and double carriages, the magnificent black Landau can be seen, which picked up the Dutch Queen Emma from Bentheim railway station during her visits to the castle.

FOUNTAIN HOUSE (BRUNNENHAUS)

The water was drawn from a depth of 23 metres using a cable winch. According to legend, the castle fountain was built by prisoners in the Middle Ages.

KATHARINEN CHURCH (KATHARINENKIRCHE)

The oldest mention of the Romanesque-Gothic church dates back to the 12th century. It is characterised by the simplicity of the reformed church and today houses one of the earliest depictions of Christ in Central Europe, the stone cross ‘Lord God of Bentheim’ (around 1000).