Feuerschlößchen

The Feuerschlößchen is a villa situated on Kirchbeuel hill featuring architectural design from the early 1900s. The residential building covers approximately 500 square meters of interior space with structural elements typical of that construction period.

Wilhelm Girardet, a newspaper publisher from Essen, acquired the property in 1903 and organized a major architectural competition. The winning design by architect Wilhelm Freiherr von Tettau became the blueprint for the villa's distinctive form.

The building has served many different purposes over time, each leaving traces in how it was used and organized. Visitors can sense these various roles when walking through its spaces and rooms.

The villa underwent extensive restoration during the 1980s to recover its original architectural features and structural integrity. Visitors will find that close attention to the building's design details and materials rewards their walk through the site.

The architectural competition attracted approximately 900 entries from designers across the region, an unusual number for a private residential project at that time. The generous prize money of 6000 marks made the competition particularly attractive to talented architects.