The Alte Burg is a

ruin Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

spur castle A spur castle is a type of medieval fortification that is sited on a spur (mountain), spur of a hill or mountain for defensive purposes. Ideally, it would be protected on three sides by steep hillsides; the only vulnerable side being that where t ...

that only comprises half a ''

bergfried ''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Italian: ''torrione''; Castilian: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries an ...

'' and is located in the Lower Saxon district of Osterode in the

Harz Mountains The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a Mittelgebirge, highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The nam ...

of central Germany. The name means "Old Castle".

Location

The ruins stand on a hill spur between the valleys of the rivers

Söse Söse () is a river of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the river Rhume and long. Geography The Söse rises on the plateau of ''Auf dem Acker'' in the district of Göttingen in the southwestern part of the Harz Mountains in ...

and Lerbach. Today the ruins find themselves within a cemetery. The castle ruins cannot actually be visited even though access through the cemetery is possible.

Site

Of the old castle on a site measuring 40 x 60 metres, only a small part of the ''bergfried'' has survived. The greater part of the castle was used as a quarry and much of the stone was carried away. The remaining tower ruins were extensively repaired. Originally the round ''bergfried'' was 33 metres high and had an outside diameter of 15 metres. Its walls were up to 3.5 metres thick and it had 5 stories.

History

The castle was first recorded in 1153. It belonged in the 12th century to

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195), also known as Henry III, Duke of Saxony (ruled 1142-1180) and Henry XII, Duke of Bavaria (ruled 1156-1180), was a member of the Welf dynasty. Henry was one of the most powerful German princes of ...

. After his death, his son,

Otto IV Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 1196 ...

inherited it. Later he bequeathed it to

Otto the Child Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants '' Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fr ...

. Other owners were Albert the Tall and Henry the Admirable. In the 14th and 15th centuries the castle became the seat of the dukes of Grubenhagen and was used as a dowager seat for the family. It was last lived in by Duchess Elisabeth who died in 1513. After that it fell into ruins.

Sources

* Ernst Andreas Friedrich: ''Wenn Steine reden könnten.'' Band IV, Landbuch-Verlag, Hanover, 1998, {{ISBN, 3-7842-0558-5

External links

Webcam on the castle

Legend: "How the Castle Became a Ruin"

Website of Osterode

Reports about the Alte Burg
- Heimatstube Freiheit e.V.

at karstwanderweg.de

at karstwanderweg.de Castles in Lower Saxony Osterode am Harz Ruined castles in Germany