Westerwinkel Castle is one of the earliest baroque castles in Westphalia. The closed four-winged complex was built in the middle of the 17th century. The castle changed hands several times. It came into the possession of the present lords of Westerwinkel, the Counts of Merveldt, in 1555 when Herman von Merveldt married Ursula von Diepenbrock, heiress daughter of Westerwinkel.
The castle was built in the middle of an English garden. It is a complex of moats whose origins can be traced to the early Baroque style and whose principles correspond to the moats of the castle in the Middle Ages. However, the moats were not dug for defensive purposes, as this system of defence was already obsolete at the time, but with an architectural objective that is representative of the Baroque style.
The entire complex extends over two rectangular islands, the buildings are on the eastern island, the garden is on the western island. Very striking are the different perspectives on the palace when walking around the historic complex.
References:Château de Niort is a medieval castle in the French town of Niort. It consists of two square towers, linked by a 15th-century building and dominates the Sèvre Niortaise valley.
The two donjons are the only remaining part of the castle. The castle was started by Henry II Plantagenet in the 12th century and completed by Richard the Lionheart. It was defended by a rectangular curtain wall and was damaged during the Wars of Religion. In the 18th century, the castle served as a prison.
The present keeps were the central point of a massive fortress. The southern keep is 28m tall, reinforced with turrets. The northern tower is slightly shorter at 23m. Both are flanked with circular turrets at the corners as well as semicircular buttresses. Each of the towers has a spiral staircase serving the upper floors. The Romanesque architecture is of a high quality with the dressed stones closely jointed.