Hardeg Castle (german: Burg Hardeg) is an old

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in the little Lower Saxon town of

Hardegsen Hardegsen () is a town in the district of Northeim, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km southwest of Northeim, and 15 km northwest of Göttingen. Burg Hardeg is a medieval castle in Hardegsen. The castle was fo ...

in the German county of

Northeim Northeim (; nds, Nuurten) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, seat of the district of Northeim, with, in 2011, a population of 29,000. It lies on the German Half-Timbered House Road. History Northeim is first mentioned in 800 in a document r ...

. It was built in the 12th century and used to be the seat of government of the

Welf Welf is a Germanic first name that may refer to: *Welf (father of Judith), 9th century Frankish count, father-in-law of Louis the Pious *Welf I, d. bef. 876, count of Alpgau and Linzgau *Welf II, Count of Swabia, died 1030, supposed descendant of W ...

dukes.

History

The first castle was occupied in around 1330 by the "noble lords of

Rosdorf Rosdorf is a municipality in the district of Göttingen, in Lower Saxony, Germany. approx. 4 km southwest of Göttingen. Mayors Sören Steinberg (SPD) was elected the new mayor in May 2014, and re-elected in 2021. He is the successor of Har ...

". In 1324, the ''

Muthaus A ''Muthaus'', also ''Mushaus'' or ''Moshaus'' (~palas) is the German term for a residential, storage or refectory (dining) building connected with a castle. It is sometimes also called a ''Turmhaus'' (literally: tower house). In the 19th century ...

'' (''Moshus'' = ''

palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval ''Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson, ...

'') was built by Conrad and Louis of Rosdorf and the place was expanded into large castle complex. The ''Muthaus'' has a height of 35 metres and is probably the oldest, fully surviving secular building in southern Lower Saxony. The expansion appears to have overstretched the lords financially. In 1379, Duke Otto of Brunswick and Göttingen (''Otto the Evil'') acquired the castle. In 1380, it was the seat of government for the

duke after he had been driven out of Göttingen; he died here on 13 December 1394. The castle then became the dower seat of Duchess Margareta. In 1560, Hardegsen ceased to be the princely residence and dower seat. From 1568 to 1823 the old castle became the head office of the ''

Amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

'' of Hardegsen, headed by a ''

Drost Drost is a Dutch occupational surname. A ''drost'' or '' drossaard '' was a kind of bailiff in the Low countries (see landdrost and seneschal). Notable people with the surname include: *Epi Drost (1945–1995), Dutch footballer * Erik Drost (born 1 ...

'' or ''

Amtmann __NOTOC__ The ''Amtmann'' or ''Ammann'' (in Switzerland) was an official in German-speaking countries of Europe and in some of the Nordic countries from the time of the Middle Ages whose office was akin to that of a bailiff. He was the most seni ...

''. From 1725 to 1780 major remodelling work was carried out on the castle in order to turn it into domestic buildings for the future estate (''Domäne''). Of the old castle, only the ''Muthaus'', the ''Hagenhaus'' and parts of the castle wall remain. In 1972 the estate and castle site were sold to the town of Hardegsen, who then rented it out. The ''Muthaus'' may be visited today, but is also hired out for events and celebrations. It is hired by the Hardegsen Cultural Project (''Kulturinitiative Hardegsen''). The income is used to maintain the castle. The

great hall A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages, and continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great ...

is used in spring and summer as a registry office.

Literature

* Ernst Andreas Friedrich: ''Das Muthaus in Hardegsen'', pp. 86-87, in: ''Wenn Steine reden könnten'', Vol. III, Landbuch-Verlag, Hanover, 1995, .

External links

{{Commons category, Burg Hardeg * http://www.kultur-in-hardegsen.de//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=29 * http://www.burgen-und-schloesser.net/niedersachsen/burg-hardeg/ * http://www.hardegsen.de/staticsite/staticsite.php?menuid=109&topmenu=10 * https://web.archive.org/web/20101106014400/http://www.weserbergland-tourismus.de/urlaubsorte/g-m/hardegsen/burg-hardeg-mit-muthaus/index.php * http://regiowiki.hna.de/Burg_Hardeg * http://www.burgenwelt.de/hardeg/bi.htm Buildings and structures completed in the 12th century Castles in Lower Saxony Buildings and structures in Northeim (district) Lowland castles