Gut Oberbehme, Medieval water castle in Kirchlengern, Germany.

Gut Oberbehme is a water castle with a single-story manor house surrounded by moats that form part of the defensive layout. The complex includes three connected wings, a mansard roof, and a baroque roof tower that sits above the residential structure.

The estate first appeared in records during 1450 and remained under the von Quernheim family for almost four centuries. The property changed hands in 1826 when merchant Arnold Friedrich von Laer took ownership and started modernizing the operations.

The estate's name recalls the knightly manor of Behme, documented in a tax register of Herford Abbey as early as the 12th century. The von Quernheim family held Oberbehme from 1426, and in 1735 the buildings passed to their Niederbehme line while the rights went to the newly built Gut Steinlacke. The Laer family, owners since 1826, housed 75 adult refugees and more than 25 children at Oberbehme in 1945.

The best way to explore the property is on foot by walking around the main building to view the moats and different sections of the complex. Wear sturdy shoes since the land is actively used for agriculture and can become difficult to walk on after rain.

The estate's name survives in a local detail: Heinrich Taake, who joined the estate administration as a 14-year-old apprentice in 1924, worked there for over 50 years until his death in 1994 and is remembered as one of the last "Oberbehmer" of that era. In 2010 the family bought the neighbouring Rittergut Steinlacke, reuniting the lands of the old Oberbehme and Niederbehme estates after centuries.