Horten House

Kempen’s largest and most splendid town house from the 18th century was built in 1773 by Heinrich Horten (1723–1779) of Neersen, the founder of the renowned Horten merchant family, and his wife Margaretha Bücker, on Kuhstraße.

The ornate ironwork above the main entrance, set into a heavy oak door, bears the initials HH MB and the year of construction, 1773.

The spacious mansard roof, still equipped with a crane on the courtyard side, was used to store merchandise – mostly food products – which were sold as far afield as Cologne. A notable descendant of the family is Helmut Horten, founder of the Horten department store group.

After Heinrich Horten’s death, his son expanded the business to include wholesale, particularly trading in iron products from the Bergisches Land region. To accommodate the growing enterprise, he added an extension in 1784 in the same style.

Originally built with seven window axes, the house was later expanded by three more, maintaining its status as a Baroque gem of the city.

Following renovation, the building was acquired by Sparkasse Kempen-Krefeld, which opened its main branch in Kempen here in 1984.