Guided tour of the castle

The beginnings of the Wasserschloß "Haus Assen" date back to the 14th century. Under the von Ketteler family, the buildings were extended to the south ("Neu-Assen"). In 1564, Goswin von Ketteler had the present-day Renaissance castle built by the master builder Laurenz von Brachum. In the mid-17th century, the von Galen family acquired the manor of Assen. Under Matthias von Galen, the neo-Gothic chapel was built by Friedrich Wilhelm Buchholz in 1854-58. The blessed Cardinal Clemens-August von Galen (1878-1946) - known as the "Lion of Münster" - often stayed at Haus Assen in his youth. His nephew, Bernhard Count von Galen, handed over the castle to the Roman Catholic religious community of the Servants of Jesus and Mary (SJM) in 1997. From 2001 to 2016, the castle was home to a boys' boarding school. It is now used as a spiritual center with a wide range of activities.