Villa Horten

The house was built for Henriette Horten, a member of the Horten merchant family and an ancestor of Helmut Horten. After the Second World War it first served as the town hall, later housing the administration of the Kempen-Krefeld district. By the 1980s its condition had deteriorated markedly, and at times homeless people took shelter in the building.

Toward the end of the 1980s, the private owner commissioned a restoration. In coordination with the state conservator, the building was reorganized: a law firm moved into the ground floor, while apartments were created on the upper and attic floors.

The two full storeys rise above a tall basement level with a barrel vault, with a broad cornice separating the floors on the exterior. The south façade is divided into six window bays, the middle two of which form a projecting risalit. This is crowned at the mansard roof by a window with a broken pediment, while the narrow sides feature three and four bays respectively. During restoration, the original staircase and railing as well as the marble floor in the reception area were preserved.

Between 2008 and 2010, the villa drew regional media attention over a long-past criminal case. An anonymous tip led police to suspect the body of a woman who had gone missing in 1988 might be hidden in the cellar, but the search proved fruitless.