Gut Grittern, Water castle in Hückelhoven, Germany.
Gut Grittern is a two-part estate southwest of Doveren in Hückelhoven: a two-storey brick Burghaus on a rectangular plan with a high basement, and 19th-century farm buildings to its northwest. The moat fed by the Nysterbach was drained around 1900 and has since been levelled. The north gable is a stepped gable set with stone balls and three light stone plaques bearing rosette and star reliefs; a bridge leads to the main entrance with the Lieck–Wevorden alliance coat of arms.
The late medieval water castle's origins are unknown; it was probably the ancestral seat of the von Grittern family. Sophia von Grittern brought it by marriage in 1535 to Dietrich von Lieck, and their descendants Johann von Lieck and Elise von Wevorde built the surviving Burghaus in the late 16th century. In 1654 it passed to Wilhelm Degenhard von Hompesch-Bollheim; his family owned it until 1840. Around 1900 Konrad Bresges had the upper storey removed and a villa built, destroyed in the Second World War; the Burghaus was rebuilt in 1970/75 and listed in 1987.
The estate's name derives from the noble family von Grittern, whose coat of arms suggests kinship with the lords of Körrenzig; Sophia von Grittern brought it to Dietrich von Lieck by marriage in 1535. The entrance bridge leads to a doorway crowned by the alliance coat of arms of Lieck and Wevorden, framed by volutes.
The estate is in private ownership and cannot be visited; there are no tours or opening hours. Views are limited to what can be seen from the public paths around Doveren, southwest of Hückelhoven. The moats were drained around 1900 and have since been levelled, so no water circuit remains.
The moat was fed by the Nysterbach, but it was drained around 1900 and has since been levelled, so no water surrounds the house today. The Renaissance fireplace inside carries the 15 coats of arms of Johann von Lieck and Elise von Wevorde; its pieces were recovered from wartime rubble in the 1970s and reassembled.
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