Efte Castle

Efte Castle, located in the German city of Essen, on the southern bank of the Ruhr River, is considered one of the oldest in the North Rhine-Westphalia region. Its name in German means “forest house on the river”. Presumably, the castle was built in the XII – XIII centuries in the Romanesque style. For several centuries the castle belonged to different families: Efte, Eller, Dornick.

The Gothic features of Efte Castle acquired in the XIX century, during one of the reconstructions led by the architect Ferdinand Schorbach. Now the castle is a square five-storey tower protruding forward in the center, decorated with teeth of the XIX century and windows with double columns in the Romanesque style, to which two three-storey wings with stepped pediments lined with stone adjoin. The staircase leading to the castle was created in 1842 and may have been connected to the stone arch bridge that has survived to this day.

The park, which is now used as a major golf club, and Efte Castle have been under the protection of the German Ministry of Culture since 1985.