Confessions of a Castleholic

While not technically a noble home when it first started out, the Villa Hügel is a castle in all but name. While Germany's Ruhr region may be more famous for its blast furnaces and shaft towers, the former home of the Krupp family is every bit a reminder of the area's industrial heritage. The mansion overlooking Lake Baldeney in the city of Essen was built in the glory days of the steel dynasty. The Krupps were once one of the world's richest families and their marriages were arranged by no other than the Kaiser himself. It was the year 1864 when Alfred Krupp bought the 28-hectare park the Villa Hügel is situated in. The task to find an architect to carry out his ideas for a house, however, wasn't an easy one. After various preparations the search for an architect intensified in the spring of 1869. Alfred Krupp had very specific ideas about his house. Even though hardly imaginable when looking at the mansion today, it was originally built with non-flammable ...