In 1830, the Bremen merchant and shipowner Diedrich Heinrich Wätjen acquired land for a summer residence on the Geestrücken between Vegesack and Blumenthal and had a country house built. From 1830 onwards he had the park surrounding the building laid out in the style of a spacious English landscape garden according to plans by the landscape gardener Isaak Altmann.
His son Christian Heinrich Wätjen expanded the property. The original house was replaced by a castle-like villa in the English Tudor Gothic style, which was built from 1858 to 1864 according to plans by the Bremen architect Heinrich Müller. The park is now known as Wätjens Park.
In 1916, the Wätjen family sold the country estate, which had been converted into a hospital at the start of the First World War. The park was divided between the neighboring industrial companies Bremer Vulkan and Bremer Wollkammerei (BWK). The castle belonged to the volcano part.
The pointed roof of the taller tower was removed during the Second World War. After the war, the roof and some gables were destroyed by fire. The roof was only partially restored and much flatter.
After the volcano went bankrupt in 1997, the park's share was privately auctioned off. The city of Bremen later acquired the park site from this buyer and the BWK. The castle and other residential buildings and the associated land remained privately owned. The intention to set up a restaurant in the castle was not realized. It contains apartments and the studio of a painter. (Source: Wikipedia, 2024)