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

Essel Essel may refer to: People * André Essel (1918–2005), French businessman * Christian Essel (born 1989), Liberian football player * Christine Essel, American politician * Eileen Essell (1922–2015), English actress * Frank Abor Essel-Cobbah, Gh ...

in the German state of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

. 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 Inhabited places in the United Kingdom *Aller, Devo ...

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 only ...

. 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 late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

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 Bunkenburg was a castle built during the 13th and 14th centuries in the shape of a circular fort located on the banks of the Aller opposite Ahlden in north Germany. Only a section of the rampart, roughly 60 metres long and 3 metres high, exist ...

(

Uhlenburg Uhlenburg is the site ('' Burgstall'') of a lowland castle that was built in the 14th century close to the River Aller near Essel in the German state of Lower Saxony. This Late Middle Ages aristocratic seat only existed for a few decades towards t ...

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 1 ...

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 is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, a ...

(

Blankenhagen Castle Blankenhagen Castle (german: Burg Blankenhagen) 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 ...

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