Schloss Borbeck, Baroque moated castle in Borbeck, Essen, Germany

Schloss Borbeck is a Baroque moated castle whose main house, on a 16 × 18 m rubble-stone core, has a light-plastered rectangular body with two four-storey corner towers capped by curved hoods and octagonal lanterns. A five-bay extension was begun in 1744, and a 13-metre stone bridge from the 19th century leads to the portal, above which the arms of Prince-Abbess Franziska Christine von Pfalz-Sulzbach are held by two lions. North-east of the manor stands a long classical-style economy building of 1842 with a triangular pediment and stone heads from Schloss Horst.

Schloss Borbeck traces back to a Frankish manor of the Essen Abbey called Bort(h)beki, first recorded in an abbey rent roll in 869. From the 14th century it served as the preferred residence of the prince-abbesses of Essen. Its present exterior took shape in the first half of the 18th century, and since the 1980s it has been used for continuing education and cultural events.

The castle operates as a cultural venue where art exhibitions and concerts take place throughout the year. Visitors and local residents use the rooms for celebrations and gatherings, keeping the space active and part of the community's social life.

The 42-hectare park is freely accessible and laid out as an English landscape garden; a wrought-iron gate from the late 17th century, moved here in the 1940s, marks the park entrance. Paths lead to the source of the Borbecke stream, which feeds the moat and the castle pond. The former Dubois-Arena boxing ground in the eastern part now hosts events.

The oldest surviving structure at Borbeck is not the manor house but a rubble-stone tower at the northwest corner of the north wing, measuring 5.90 by 5.90 metres. It is a remnant of the 14th/15th-century medieval outer bailey; its cellar once served as a prison, and a guard room with windows occupied the upper floor.