Editing Steinfurt (section)

==Historical monuments==
[[File:Marketplace Burgsteinfurt.jpg|thumb|Market square Burgsteinfurt]]
[[File:Huck-Beifang-House Burgsteinfurt.jpg|thumb|150px|Huck Beifang House]]
The '''Old Town Hall''' built in 1561 indicates by its [[Renaissance]] [[gable]] the self-confidence of the economically successful citizens of Burgsteinfurt. The swinging contours of the gable lead to seven peaked pyramids and the crest of the city. The [[Turret (architecture)|turret]] of the town hall is supported by one big beam, called "Kaiserstiel" (i.e., emperor's beam). The Gothic hall below on the first floor contained the city guard and the prison for a very long time. On the second floor there is the big assembly hall of the city council and the chamber with the fireplace.

At the beginning of the Hahnen street is the "'''Huck-Beifang-Haus'''." Eberhard Huck, the Count's financial administrator, had built this house as an annex to his wife's home in "Bütkamp 3." The proud owner noted on the bay in Latin: "Sunt hae structae aedes Eberhardie sumptibus Hucki. Ex his as superas sperat abire domos," which would be in English something like: "This house was built at the expense of Eberhard Huck. From here he hopes he will come into heaven one day." The bay is marked with the crest of the Huck family (Huck = hook) and Beifang family and the year 1607. The building, which in the meantime harboured the [[public library]], serves now occasionally as an [[art gallery]] and a [[function hall]] for [[public lecture]]s.

From here a narrow medieval lane, the "'''Kalkarstiege'''," leads to "'''Bütkamp'''." There are several classic buildings all at once: first the '''Haus Bütkamp 3''' on the left side and the house called '''Ackerbürgerhaus''', a building inhabited by a citizen who was a farmer as well as a citizen of the town and who had his land outside the city walls. On the right side is a very graceful half-timbered house with two storeys located. It dates from the beginning of the 17th century and is called '''Kornschreiberhaus''' ("Bütkamp 14"). The second floor and the third floor extend into the street. Thus the house offered more space. Michael Oeglein from [[Southern Germany]]'s [[Swabia]] is considered the architect and initial owner of this house. He was in charge of collecting the duties and taxes the farmers owed to the Count. They delivered [[food grain]] ("Korn") and he had to keep records. Since "keeping records" is in colloquial German "(auf-)schreiben", his house was eventually known as "Kornschreiberhaus."

The tall building housing the "'''Stadtbücherei'''" (municipal public library) is known as "Weinhaus" (wine-house). It is the oldest building at the market square. Built around 1450 by the Count, it served as accommodation for his guests and later on for selling wine. Moreover, it demonstrated how the Count held sway over the town and its market square which symbolized the wealth and power of the citizens. Due to certain defects concerning the building's construction the roof had to be restored in 1490 already. The wall close to "Kirchstrasse" had to be rebuilt after the Thirty Years' War. And the [[stucco]] façade, a mix of Baroque elements and [[Art Nouveau]] dates back to 1912. Nowadays the house lodges a fireplace which was relocated from house "Markt 16." It shows [[Adam and Eve]] while Eve passes on the apple to Adam.

Close to the Wine-House there are two houses in Renaissance style. The house "'''Markt 18'''" was owned by the judge and law professor at the "Hohe Schule," Johannes Goddaeus, who had the house built on the foundations of a wine-shop. The house "'''Markt 16'''" was constructed by the Count's administrator Dr. Caspar Kestering and his wife Adelheid Huberts immediately after the Thirty Years' War in 1648. Their initials are eligible in the crest of the two lions in front of the door. In the past there was a tavern, the cellar of which still exists. During the Thirty Years' War the house was destroyed, but Kestering had a new house put up on the foundation of the old one in the style of the [[Renaissance in the Low Countries|Dutch Renaissance]].

Opposite to this house there is the House Pieter van der Swaagh, which was built in 1784 by judge Friedrich Houth in classicistic style. The flowerpots on the house with the artificial agaves probably derive from the Bagno.

The tour leads on to "'''Burgstrasse'''." The Count's the former "Kunsthaus" (House of Arts) deserves attention because more than a hundred years ago it was a unique museum of artwork, stuffed crocodiles and odd scientific instruments. At the end of "Burgstrasse" there is the "Schlossmühle" (castle mill) on the left and the castle itself on the right. There was a mill on this site already in the Middle Ages, today there is a café and a restaurant.

The '''Castle''' is one of Burgsteinfurt's most important buildings. Registered [[sightseeing]] tours are offered, but only a limited area is open for tourists because the castle is still inhabited by the noble family. A fortified castle was erected on a hill already dug up in the 10th century, but was destroyed in 1164 in a conflict with Ascheberg's [[nobility]]. The new facility contained an outer wall, the "[[Fortified tower|Buddenturm]]," a tall tower for defence demolished in the 18th century, and the tower used for living with the [[Great hall]]. A rare construction are the two chapels built on top of each other and used as two-storeyed chapel. The auxiliary building ("Vorburg") of today in front of the main residence or "Hauptburg" comprises flats, garages, stables and farm buildings. In the middle there is a little Baroque "house" for a well, built by [[stonemason]] Johann Schrader.

From the castle and the market the former university building "'''Hohe Schule'''" can be seen. In order to oppose the activities of the Jesuits in Münster and "Münsterland," Count Arnold IV (1554–1606) founded a Calvinistic university, once the oldest university in Westphalia. Starting in 1591 the "Hohe Schule" offered courses in law, theology, medicine/physics, philosophy, history and rhetoric. Doctors’ degrees, however, were not awarded in Burgsteinfurt. The "Hohe Schule" was built in the Renaissance style and is crowned by two weather vanes that are marked with the crest of Count Arnold IV and his wife. Around the big tower runs a gallery, where people could make astronomical computations. At the beginning of the 19th century the "Hohe Schule" was closed. It was used then by French troops under Napoleonic rule, later on as the seat of a law court and as a prison.

From the "Hohe Schule" an alley branches off, the so-called '''Kautenstege''', actually Kortenstege or "short way." At the beginning the old '''Geisthaus''' (House of the Holy Spirit) can be seen, the only surviving poorhouse of the city from the 15th century. In "Kautenstege" a memorial stone reminds the visitor of the '''Synagogue''' that once stood here and the Jewish citizens who were deported. The Synagogue was destroyed in November 1938. At the end of "Kautenstege" there is the '''Steinstrasse''' ("cobblestone street," in former times the only paved street in Burgsteinfurt); on the right side there is the old town hall, the starting point of the tour.