Villa Alstede, Heritage manor estate in Nottuln, Germany
Villa Alstede is a manor estate complex in Nottuln with multiple structures built from local Baumberger sandstone. The ensemble includes the main residence, a fortified grain storage building, and a former storage structure, whose forms reflect the building traditions of the region.
First mentioned in 1217 as a main farmstead of the Aegidiikloster in Münster, the estate stayed with that monastery until secularisation around 1800. Ownership passed through the von Stevening, von Droste zu Uhlenbrock, von Droste zu Möllenbeck and Droste zu Hülshoff families. Bernhard Schencking's 1826 marriage brought it to the Schencking family, and in 1911 a Schulze Hauling married in; the family has farmed it since. A 1908 fire destroyed parts of the main house interior, which was then refitted in Jugendstil.
The estate is not open to visitors; it has housed a Wellenbrecher educational institution since its renovation was completed for the 800th anniversary of the first mention in 2017. The name Alstede goes back to the former Bauerschaft Alstede, whose main farm this was. The sandstone fireplace in the upper room of the 1536 Wehrspeicher carries drastic console figures, and the chimney stone at the cellar entrance shows two humorous hunting scenes.
The estate is not open to visitors: it houses the Wellenbrecher educational institution, so the buildings can only be seen from the public path outside. The complex lies in the Heller farming hamlet of Schapdetten, on the upper Stever. Renovation of the whole site was completed in 2017.
The former grain storage building features basement gun ports and a large sandstone fireplace on the upper floor, marking its dual role as fortification and residence. This military equipment on a storage building is unusual in the region and suggests the estate held strategic importance in earlier times.
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