City history
"Ludinchusen" popped out of the egg in the year 800
When Snelhard and Walfried gave their local farm to Liudger, the founder and first abbot of Werden Abbey, in the year 800, Lüdinghausen "popped out of the egg", so to speak. In any case, Lüdinghausen was first mentioned in a document in this deed of gift. There was talk of "Ludinchusen". The gift included fields, forest, pastures, meadows and river rights. However, there was probably already a small settlement area and a church at the time. When Liudger, who had been made the first bishop of Münster by Charlemagne in 805, died in 809, "Ludinchusen" fell to the abbot of Werden Abbey. With its church and its location on the main road from Cologne to Münster, it was of great interest to the monastery.
Stever as the basis of life
The Stever was the basis of the settlement's livelihood. It rises in the Baumberge mountains and today flows into the Hullerner reservoir. The division of the Stever into several branches served as a good basis for the construction of a ford (river crossing) on the highway. Travelers coming from the south moved along the Langenbrückenstraße via today's market square further along the Münsterstraße and thus moved exclusively above the 52 m contour line. It is therefore no coincidence that the medieval core of the Lüdinghausen settlement was also located in this area, which is confirmed by the arched layout of the streets between the market square and the church. Later, the village expanded along the elevated highway (now Münsterstraße). During major floods, the houses were virtually on an island.
Market from the 11th century
It is unclear exactly when the market right was granted. But there is evidence in the form of coins that it was exercised from at least the 11th century. Coinage and market rights were held by the abbots, who were allowed to exercise them in Lüdinghausen and who granted them to the lords of Lüdinghausen. They were to administer it in the interests of the church. The dynasty, which later called itself "von Lüdinghausen", became increasingly powerful through the administration of the estates of Werden Abbey. Administrators became feudatories who had power over the "Lordship of Lüdinghausen" (castle, freedom, the village of Lüdinghausen, the farming communities of Altdenhövel, Bechtrup, Elvert and Westrup).
In the course of time, the administrators of the monastery in Lüdinghausen succeeded in their social advancement to a knightly ministerial family. One sign of their rise was the construction of Lüdinghausen Castle. Lüdinghausen Castle was first mentioned in writing in 1271, when it was already referred to as the "old castle". The reason for this mention was a conflict between the sovereign, the Bishop of Münster, and the Knights of Lüdinghausen. The latter had built a second castle, Wolfsberg Castle, without his permission. The bishop successfully took military action against them. Wolfsberg Castle had to be demolished. This did not prevent the knights from rebuilding it later. And so the feud between the church and the knights began.
Strife between the church and the nobility
The bishops wanted to expand their power in Lüdinghausen, which led to many disputes with the local nobility. Lüdinghausen, relatively close to the border of the prince-bishopric, was fiercely contested. The knights of Lüdinghausen concluded various treaties and changed fronts several times. To keep the knights in check, the Bishop of Münster sent his confidant Drosten Albert von Wulfheim. He was to monitor the knights of Lüdinghausen. This was the birth of Vischering Castle in 1271, which permanently represented the power of the Bishop of Münster. Incidentally, the Droste zu Vischering family still owns the castle today, which is leased by the district of Coesfeld.
When the Münster bishop's throne was vacant, the lords of Lüdinghausen Castle, Hermann von Lüdinghausen and his son Hermann, as well as the owner of Wolfsberg Castle, Heidenreich Lüdinghausen-Wolf, seized the opportunity and made Lüdinghausen a town. On March 9, 1309 according to today's calendar. However, the prince-bishop not only refused to legitimize the town, he even elevated the nearby town of Dülmen to the status of a town in 1311. Lüdinghausen was not allowed to send any representatives to the prince-bishopric's parliament. The Knights of Lüdinghausen continued to demonstrate their power, e.g. through a brief coalition with the Archbishop of Cologne.
Reconstruction of Lüdinghausen Castle
The conflict between the knights and the sovereign bishop finally ended in 1443 with the death of the last childless knight, Ludolf. The castle first went to the bishop and then to the cathedral chapter of Münster in 1509. The chapter commissioned the cathedral dean Gottfried von Raesfeld to rebuild the dilapidated Lüdingausen Castle. The cathedral chapter wanted to have a safe place to retreat to after its experiences with the Anabaptist movement in Münster. This work was completed in 1574. They are still visible today on the gable of the Bauhaus and the south wing of the castle.
Lüdinghausen probably owes its special position as a fief of Werden Abbey to the fact that its castle, the freedom of Lüdinghausen, the town and the four farming communities of Aldenhövel, Bechtrup, Elvert and Westrup remained the so-called Lordship of Lüdinghausen until the beginning of the 19th century. The lord of the castle was also the lord of the village known as "Wigbold" or "Stedelein". Lüdinghausen had its own town fortifications and its own administration with elected town councillors. It was also allowed to hold fairs. At the beginning of the 19th century, Lüdinghausen Castle became the property of Prussia as a result of secularization and then passed into the ownership of a private individual (Cremer). Some time later, the agricultural school moved into the buildings, then the town bought the castle. The west wing was therefore completely rebuilt. Today, the castle is the socio-cultural center of the town of Lüdinghausen. Vischering was later only a private castle.
Everything revolves around water
Moated castles, bridges, mills - everything in Lüdinghausen revolves around water. The Stever in particular, with its many branches and 50 bridges, characterizes the townscape. In the Middle Ages, when it came to expanding the town moat, the arms of the Stever offered good conditions. In the west, the three moated castles provided additional security. The abundance of water also meant a great burden for the town due to frequent flooding. The construction of the eastern Stever in 1927 did not bring the hoped-for solution, as the major floods of 1946, 1960 and 1961 showed. Finally, between 1965 and 1973, the entire Stever between Senden and Olfen was deepened, straightened and widened. The water flows with the Stever through the city center as well as through the nature around the city.
