Schloss Moyland, a neo-Gothic moated castle, can be found embedded in the landscape of the Lower Rhine. The castle and its historical gardens dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries form an ensemble of major significance in terms of artistic and cultural history.
The basic structure of the gardens is still determined by Baroque elements such as a system of avenues and moats. A garden in “mixed style” was created at the close of the 19th century at the same time as the castle was being redesigned in neo-Gothic style. Areas in the style of an “English garden” are combined here with structures typical of an “architectural garden”, resulting in a park and garden landscape with a wide variety of situational elements. This landscape was restored to the condition shown in the most recently known historical records alongside the reconstruction of the castle.
Schloss Moyland and its historical park are located close to Kleve in the middle of a largely agricultural area. The castle is surrounded by a system of double and triple moats with a regular rectangular layout. The ensemble of castle and park furthermore forms part of an extensive and largely preserved system of avenues which originally linked it closely to Kleve on the one hand and to a “hunting star” formed by eight avenues at Moylandscher Berg (Moyland Hill) on the other. The gardens feature formal and landscape elements in what can be described as a mixed style.
The historical park was founded as a forest and game reserve and is now classified as a landscape park. The centrepiece is the castellated castle complex, the four sides of which are grouped around an inner courtyard with three crenellated corner towers and an elevated north tower. The core of the building dates back to the 14th and 15th centuries. Today, it is used as a museum for contemporary art and houses the Joseph Beuys Archive of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the van der Grinten collection. The castle is located at the centre of an almost square pond which forms the inner moat and can be accessed by way of three bridges on the main axis. To the south-east of the entrance side of the castle is the transverse rectangular island of the former outer bailey. Today, it features two more recent individual wings on its north and south sides and a carriage turning area with four spandrels. Also to be found on the main axis is a second rectangular island with a bowling green and adjoining hydrangea gardens which are home to one of the largest hydrangea collections in Germany.
Access to the grounds is via a “transverse avenue”, which intersects the main axis to the castle at a right angle, whereby this space has been designed with noteworthy ornamentation.
Following the discovery of the Anholter-Moyländer-Kräuterbuch (Anholt-Moyland Book of Herbs) in 1999, a herb garden with 16 beds on various themes was created in the southern part of the grounds. The garden was based on the verifiable formal bed design shown in the Kleve land register of 1736. Plants from the herb book are planted in four of the beds. There is also a bed with poisonous plants, a bed with plants of indigenous peoples, a garden in the tradition of Hildegard von Bingen, a Charlemagne garden, and a garden with Egyptian plants and present-day culinary herbs.
The northern counterpart is a perennial garden with colourful beds, again based on the Kleve land register. The herb garden and perennial garden are enclosed by hornbeam hedges, so that accessing the gardens through the hedge gates takes on a special quality for visitors. An arbour forms a transition between the landscaped and formal areas of the perennial garden.
The park opens towards the west onto a large lawn with a view of the Lower Rhine cultural landscape. A wooded area borders the lawn to the south. The large tree house with its suspension bridge and ropeway is very popular with children.
The entire park is home to around 60 sculptures placed throughout the grounds. The aforementioned outer rectangular moat system runs around the entire park, enclosing it as an outer boundary and forming its sole natural protection.
The most significant of the park’s special historical elements is the oak tree (Quercus robur) dating from 1700, which is particularly noteworthy as the oldest tree in the park. Further oaks and copper beeches dating from 1820, 1830, 1850, 1880 and 1945 can also be found. 120 of the 1,200 trees can be categorised as historical specimens.
The park has been listed as an historical monument since 1989, as has the exterior of the castle. The interior of the building is not included in this listing.
Museum Schloss Moyland
Am Schloss 4
47551 Bedburg-Hau
Phone +49 2824 9510-60
info@moyland.de
https://moyland.de/
Navigation device input:
Moyland Castle car park,
Moyländer Allee 3
Opening hours:
Summer (1 April – 30 September)
Mon. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. (car park only)
Tue-Fri 11am-6pm
Sat., Sun. and public holidays 10-18 h
Winter (1 October – 31 March)
Mon. 11am-5pm (park only)
Tue.-Sun. 11am-5pm
The museum is open on public holidays and Shrove Monday.
The museum is closed on 24.12., 25.12., 31.12. and 1.1.
Access to the Joseph Beuys Archive and Museum Library by appointment only.
Tickets/prices (valid from 1 January 2024):
Exhibition areas/castle building/tower & gardens/sculpture park:
9 € adults
Children and young people up to and including 17 years free
6 € reduced for certain groups of people
8 € Groups of 10 or more (per person)
7 € Groups of 30 or more (per person)
50 € annual ticket
Historical gardens/sculpture park only:
(except for special events)
3 € per person
2 € reduced for certain groups of people
25 € annual ticket
Tickets for visiting the exhibitions can be redeemed at any time in the museum shop.
Access to the café.
All visitors receive a €2 token for the café (only valid on the day of issue). Special events are excluded from this regulation.
Combined ticket for art museums on the Lower Rhine: Moyland, Goch and Kurhaus Kleve:
(Offer in the period from 23 March to 8 September 2024)
16 € adults
Children and young people up to and including 17 years free
9 € reduced for certain groups of people
12.50 € Groups of 10 or more (per person)
Cultural programme and exhibitions:
Current information on the cultural programme can be found on the website: Homepage: Schloss Moyland
Tourist information:
Café: Rocco’s Museum Café. Opening hours: Tue.-Sun. 11-18 h
WC: yes
Car park: Designated Schloss Moyland car park, Moyländer Allee 3
Shop: yes
Benches in the park: yes
Barrier-free access: yes
Signposting on the plants: Sixteen individual beds contain over 300 local and foreign herbs, including herbs from the Anholter-Moyländer Kräuterbuch, poisonous plants, exotic herbs, a bed with herbs known from antiquity, medicinal plants and herbs that play a role in Hildegard von Bingen’s herbal medicine, as well as culinary herbs.
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