Unterhaus

The Unterhaus is a late medieval noble residence in Nordborchen, a village within the municipality of Borchen in the Paderborn district of North Rhine-Westphalia. It stands on low ground near the Altenau stream, once surrounded by a moat. The site began as a fortified manor in the 15th century when the Archbishop of Cologne granted the Oeynhausen family a local estate. By 1515 the family held both the Oberhaus and Unterhaus as separate fiefs. Their North Borchen line died out in 1657, and the Unterhaus passed to another branch of the Oeynhausens.

The castle was a nearly square complex with four round corner towers and a moat fed by the Altenau. Today only the base of one tower remains above ground, and modern roofs shelter the cellars of the corner building. The old ditch survives as a shallow depression in the ground. Historical maps show a large dwelling house on the south-eastern side, flanked by two service buildings inside the walls and one outside. Most of the structure was demolished in 1896, leaving only scattered remains.

Visitors can still trace the outline of the moat and see the surviving tower stub and cellar vaults under a modern roof. The site lies within a quiet village setting, surrounded by farmland and the gentle curve of the Altenau. A low mound marks where the main building once stood, while the remaining cellars give a sense of the original scale. The spot offers a quiet reminder of medieval life on this small tributary of the Pader.