Blankenburg Castle (German: ''Burg Blankenburg'') was a small castle in the village of Engehausen in the municipality of Essel in the German state of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

. It dates roughly to the 13th century. All that remains are parts of the surrounding rampart. Today a rural farmstead, formerly a manor house, stands on the site of the old castle. The castle was built on the north bank of the river

Aller Aller may refer to: Places Rivers *Aller (Germany), a major river in North Germany * Aller (Asturian river), a river in Asturias, Spain * River Aller, a small river on Exmoor in Somerset, England * Aller Brook, a small river in Devon, England Inh ...

Heine, Dr Hans Wilhelm and others, ''Burgen im Fluss'', Landkreis Soltau-Fallingbostel, Bad Fallingbostel, 2005, above the flood plain. Today it lies on a silted-up branch of the old river. The ruins of a rampart can still be seen on the southeastern side of the former castle site; the opposite side of the embankment had been levelled around 1900. The extent of the castle has been estimated at 50 x 50 m. Today an old farmhouse stands in the middle of the site. At the beginning of the 20th century the foundations and parts of a vault were reported to have been found. The castle was attributed to the Lords of Blankena or Blankenhagen, who were mentioned in the middle of the 13th century in the records in connexion with the

Hodenhagen Castle Hodenhagen Castle (German: ''Burg Hodenhagen'') is the site ('' Burgstall'') of a former lowland castle (''Niederungsburg'') built in the 13th century in the vicinity of Hodenhagen in the German state of Lower Saxony. This medieval manor house on ...

. Their line must have soon died out however.

Similar fortified sites in the vicinity

In the local area there is a number of other

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

castles in the valley of the

. These include fortifications in

Bierde Bierde is a village in the municipality of Böhme, Lower Saxony, that is part of Heidekreis district in the German state of Lower Saxony. Bierder Burg Near the lake, known as the Bierder See, is a wood in which the ruins of an old castle are ...

Ahlden Ahlden is a municipality in the Heidekreis district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Aller, approx. 15 km southwest of Bad Fallingbostel, and 30 km southeast of Verden. Ahlden is located in the Samtgemeinde ("coll ...

( Bunkenburg), Essel ( Uhlenburg),

Rethem Rethem () is a town in the Heidekreis in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Aller, approx. 25 km southwest of Bad Fallingbostel, and 18 km southeast of Verden. The town was the scene of heavy fighting over the period ...

Hodenhagen Hodenhagen is a municipality in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town was once the site of Hudemühlen Castle, which is now destroyed. The castle was famous as the home of the kobold Hinzelmann.Keightley, Thomas (1850). ''T ...

(

) and

Grethem Grethem is a municipality in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alp ...

(

Blankenhagen Castle Blankenhagen Castle () was a lowland castle (''Niederungsburg''), whose ruins are located by the River Aller near Grethem in Lower Saxony, Germany. The motte-and-bailey castle is believed to have been built around 1200. It is supposed that there ...

References

Sources

* Heine, Dr Hans Wilhelm and others, ''Burgen im Fluss'', Landkreis Soltau-Fallingbostel, Bad Fallingbostel, 2005, Buildings and structures in Heidekreis Castles in Lower Saxony Heidmark Lowland castles {{Heidekreis-geo-stub