Confessions of a Castleholic

Visiting castles that aren't open to the public is always a bit of gamble. You never quite know how much you will be able to see and how close you are going to get. Burg Vernaburg is definitely one of the places I wish I could have gotten closer to. This ruin with some somewhat more modern looking buildings in its direct vicinity looks utterly fascinating. Of the original structure, only a handful of towers and walls still stand and form the backdrop for a modern residential building.  The original Burg Vernaburg dates back to the year 1607 and owes its existence to Wilhelm von Krewet. Occasionally also called Krewetsburg based on the name of its first owner, the Krewets were an important lower noble family of the Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn. Wilhelm subsequently moved his family's residence to Vernaburg from Salzkotten, a place the family had held as a fiefdom. As with many other castles all over Germany and Europe, the Thirty Years' War also left its mark on B...

While the history of the little village of Wewer, today a part of Paderborn, can be traced back to the 9th century, today's Schloss by the same name isn't quite as old. This relatively simple Baroque-style castle was built for Baron Jodokus Godfried of Imbsen between the years 1684 and 1686 in stead of a former castle nearby. At the time, the historical district of Wewer was split between the Imbsen and the Brenken families after one half had been sold by the Imbsens to a female line of the family who had married into Brenken family at the beginning of the 16th century. The Barons of Brenken in Wewer died out in male line in 1817 with their inheritance going to another line of the family who home was Schloss Erpernburg . Only a few years later, in 1833, the Barons of Imbsen also died out in male line. Their indebted estate, including Schloss Wewer , went to the daughters of the family who decided to sell it to pay the debts. It was their heirs of the Barons of Brenken ...