The Knippenberg Family

"Beautifully located on the right river bank of the Ems, the other side surrounded by old trees, gardens, and ponds sits the eminent building of the grounds. It is an interesting, old building in medieval style, like other buildings of the old Westfaalse families."

That is the way the romantic poet, Luise Hensel, described the castle Knippenberg, which she visited occasionally around 1830.

Still it is unknown when and how the Knippenburg was constructed, and where the Knippenberg family came from. The first writing about the area (Bahnhofstraße - between Hauptbahnhof and Südbahnhof) in 1385 calls it "Castrum Knippenburg".

According to historian P.L. Devens, the previous Brandenburgs feudal estate was in the possession of the Knippenburg family but fell into the hands of the family Von der Loe, through marriage of Rorich von der Knippenburg with Walter von der Loe. After that is was belonged to the families Von Heyden, Von Bellinghausen and in the year 1700 the family Von Asbeck. In the Kohl wars of 1583 and 1599 the castle served as a stronghold, which could be seen of the oval embrasures.

June 9th, 1821 Landrat Friedrich Karl Devens bought the castle and grounds Knippenburg from Freiherr von Fürstenberg. In 1885 the Rheinische Stahlwerke gained possession of it. The castle, an old manor, typical for Niederrhein and Westfalen, contained the castle, six outbuildings, wagon sheds, porter's and coachman's lodges, armory, large sheds for the horses, cows and pigs, slaughter house, root cellar, large supply buildings, a winter garden, a large spring garden and fish ponds, moats, and castle gardens and a ten acres park. That was what the castle looked like till 1889.

But when the Arenbergse N.V. for mine industry and blast furnace started digging, the castle grounds became lakes and swamps. In 1878 the results of the building of the mines became visible. Cracks appeared in the walls, and when it rained the castle and the six side buildings floated.

July 10th, 1884, the royal medical officer Dr. Albers declared the Knippenburg uninhabitable. At that time the castle was surrounded by swamps and sewers, and the drinking water became a danger for health. Dr. Albers was infected by some sort of malaria after this visit.

Fraulein Devens, the habitant of the Knippenburg, held a lawsuit against the Arenbergse N.V.. The company was convicted of: "the commitment of the Arenbergse N.V. to compensate Fraulein Devens of House Knippenburg at Bottrop for all the damage to the ground and buildings, and the not yet existing damage, which amounts will be stated in the future."

After 1885, when the castle was in possession of the Arenbergse N.V., the condition of everything became worse. In the second world war about eighty percent of the building was destroyed. Because neither Rheinstahl N.V., city Bottrop, or .... wanted to provide financial means to save one of the most beautiful water castles in Westfalen, the castle Knippenburg was demolished in 1962.

The demolisher had a difficult time trying to demolish the house, and he had to use dynamite to break the walls which were yards thick. This is where the history of the Knippenburg castle ends.

From the Bottrop newspaper