The second day of the Beer Advent takes us to East Westphalia, to Rheder in the Nethetal valley in the district of Höxter. The Count von Mengersen'sche Dampfbrauerei Rheder has been brewing there in the outer bailey of the baroque castle since 1686.
The Barons v. Spiegel and Barons v. Mengersen families are among the oldest and most important noble families in Westphalia. Rheder Castle has been the ancestral seat of the families since the 14th century.
Rheder Castle Brewery
Until the construction of Rheder Castle (1750), the so-called outer bailey from 1716 served as the family's residence and was also used for estate management and the brewery - brewing still takes place there today. The brewhouse of Rheder Castle Brewery is in the left wing of the outer bailey, while the administration and the Hussar Museum are in the middle.
The cavalry captain on the label of our beer seems to have stepped straight out of the museum. He has filled his glass mug. He toasts us and says: “Cheers to the Hussar Rittmeister, the palatable, mild, pale lager from the Rheder Castle Brewery.”
Baroque castle and English landscape garden
The baroque castle in the inner courtyard of the outer bailey appears simple, but its interior holds many a treasure. Ceilings with lavish decorative ornaments, an octagonal garden hall with a view of the English landscape ridge. Bruno Graf v. Mengersen had the park laid out in 1883. He was inspired by the garden design ideas of Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau.
Since 2003, the park has been home to spatial installations by the American artist Jenny Holzer. In fallen or felled trees, the artist has engraved sentences taken from some of her earlier works and from poems by Henri Cole. The inscriptions are exposed to the weather and thus slowly but constantly change their outer form - an artistic examination of transience and everyday life.
