Haus Borg, Moated castle in Drensteinfurt, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Haus Borg is a water castle in Drensteinfurt, built across three small islands linked by bridges and forming a single enclosed complex. The main residential mansion features a baroque-inspired design in brick and cut stone, with a separate pavilion standing at its northeast corner.
Haus Borg was first recorded in 1209 and belonged at that time to the lords of Rinkerode. In 1324, the estate passed to the Volmarstein family through marriage, who went on to shape its development over the following generations.
The Kerckerinck family, who acquired Haus Borg in 1466, added "zur Borg" to their name and kept the estate until 1988. The blue shield with a silver diagonal band and three gold-seeded red roses, topped by a helmet with buffalo horns, is the family's own coat of arms, not that of the Volmarsteins.
The estate is privately owned and can be seen from the public roads and paths that run around it, without entering the grounds. The eastern side offers the clearest view of the brick construction and the overall layout of the complex.
Cleaning work in the Gräfte moat in 1982 exposed several foundations, most likely belonging to a predecessor of the outer bailey and to a bridge leading to it. The same work uncovered a pile foundation that had supported a tower at the northeast corner of the manor house, a tower still standing in the 19th century.
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