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The water castle Moyland, established in the Middle Ages, baroque in the 17th century, and redesigned in neo-Gothic style in the 19th century, is the legendary place of the first encounter between Frederick the Great and Voltaire in 1740. But even today, the castle located in Bedburg-Hau in the Lower Rhine region (district of Kleve) again forms a center of intellect: It has housed the art collection of Hans and Franz Joseph van der Grinten since 1997, which especially shines with works by the artist Joseph Beuys.
The two brothers, who were friends with Beuys, began collecting his works as early as 1950: drawings, watercolor sheets, oil paintings, plastic images, and plastic works. With nearly 6,000 items, this collection represents the world's largest Beuys complex. Furthermore, the Joseph Beuys Archive, an institute of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, houses well over 200,000 archival materials and documents related to the life, work, and influence of the artist. The museum is supported by a foundation, into which the family of Steengracht contributed the castle, the van der Grintens the collection, and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia the financial security.
