Villa Hügel is the former home of the Krupp dynasty — the family whose steel and armaments empire powered German industrialisation and supplied the weapons for two world wars. The house, built by Alfred Krupp in 1873, is a 269-room villa on a hillside above the Baldeneysee lake, furnished with the heavy splendour appropriate to a family that once had more employees than most European armies.
The house is now open as a museum and exhibition space, with rotating exhibitions on art, history, and industry alongside a permanent display on the Krupp family and their complex relationship with German history — including their willing collaboration with the Nazi regime and the use of forced labour during World War II. The grounds are beautiful; the path around the Baldeneysee lake below the house makes an excellent afternoon walk.