The Evenburg is a

water castle A water castle is a castle whose site is largely defended by water. It can be entirely surrounded by water-filled moats (moated castle) or natural waterbodies such as island castles in a river or offshore. The term comes from European castle st ...

in the village of

Loga Loga may refer to: People * Bob Loga (1940–1996), American stock car racing official * (1859-1911), Prussian politician * Iarlaithe mac Loga, also known as Saint Jarlath * Ignacy Loga-Sowiński (1914–1992), Polish trade union activist and poli ...

( Leer) in north Germany ( East Frisia/Ostfriesland) not far from the River Leda.

History

It was built by Colonel Erhard Reichsfreiherr von Ehrentreuter of Hofrieth (1596-1664), commander of the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

Emden Emden () is an independent city and seaport in Lower Saxony in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia and, in 2011, had a total population of 51,528. History The exact founding date of E ...

, between the years 1642 and 1650. He named the castle after his wife Eva, Baroness Ungnad, of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, whom he had married in 1631. Colonel von Ehrentreuter had been

enfeoffed In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of ti ...

with Loga and the neighbouring village of Logabirum by Count Ulrich II of East Frisia to pay off his considerable gambling debts. Marie von Ehrentreuter (1633-1702), the youngest daughter of the colonel, married Gustav Wilhelm Freiherr von Wedel (1641-1717) who came from

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

. The later

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

of the Danish King Christian became the new lord of Evenburg and also the Governor of

Oldenburg Land Oldenburg Land (german: Oldenburger Land) is a region and regional association in the German state of Lower Saxony in the area of the former Grand Duchy of Oldenburg (1815–1918), the later Free State of Oldenburg (1918–1946) and administrativ ...

. In 1684, having amassed a considerable fortune, he bought the

Jarlsberg Jarlsberg was a former countship that forms a part of today's Vestfold county in Norway. The former countships of Jarlsberg and Larvik were merged into a county in 1821. Jarlsberg and Larvik's County (''Jarlsberg og Larviks amt'') were renamed ...

near Christiania (Oslo) in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

as well. From that time onwards, the von Wedels were given the title of

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

. Descendants of the von Wedel family, whose main residence today is Gödens Castle in the parish of Sande, occupied the Evenburg for centuries.

Architecture

In 1861/62, the building, which was one of the earliest examples of classical architecture in the Dutch style, was badly in need of repair and was largely demolished. Only the foundation walls and the vault of the old transept in the centre were incorporated into the new residence, which was otherwise executed in the

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style; its architect being Richard Stueve from

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

(1939-1945) the castle was badly damaged. The filigreed roof structures could not be restored, the roof was covered very simply.

After extensive renovation work the Evenburg is now home to various institutions including the Education Academy of East Frisia and a college for grammar school teachers. Until a few years ago it also housed the district media centre for Leer district, who had acquired the Evenburg in June 1975 along with its estates for about seven million

deutschmarks The Deutsche Mark (; English: ''German mark''), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later the unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it was ...

from the von Wedels. Its attractions include the long double

avenue Avenue or Avenues may refer to: Roads * Avenue (landscape), traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees, in the shifted sense a tree line itself, or some of boulevards (also without trees) * Avenue Road, Bangalore * Avenue Road, ...

, which leads from the town of Leer to the castle, the baroque bastion (''Vorburg'') of 1703 (home to the district music school), the hallway, the remains of the old stables and the extensive landscaped park in the style of an

English garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

with paths to the Ledadeich (dyke). By 2006 the Evenburg had been returned to its appearance in the mid-19th century. The neo-Gothic roof and many interior details were restored. It was opened in January 2007. The castle may be visited as part of a guided tours. The hall (''Saal'') and the bastion host concerts and other events.

Sources

* Bärenfänger, Rolf (1996). ''Archäologie im Park des Schlosses Evenburg in Loga''. Wegweiser zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte Niedersachsens 26. Oldenburg:Isensee Verlag, . * Braukmüller, Heide and Neumann, Detlev (1996). ''Zur Geschichte der Evenburg.'' Leer:Reinhard, . * Gerdes, Klaus (2008). ''Naturkundlicher Führer durch den Evenburgpark in Loga'', Leer:Landkreis Leer,

External links

A. Moser on the excavations in 2004
{{Coord, 53, 13, 52, N, 7, 29, 41, E, region:DE_type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title Castles in Lower Saxony Water castles in Germany Buildings and structures in Leer (district) History of East Frisia Gardens in Lower Saxony