![Plattenburg Sammlung Duncker](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Plattenburg_Sammlung_Duncker.jpg)
The Plattenburg is a
water castle in the independent municipality of
Plattenburg
Plattenburg is a municipality in the Prignitz district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is named after the water castle of Plattenburg which is located in the district.
Demography
File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Plattenburg.pdf, Development of popul ...
in the German district of
Prignitz
Prignitz () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northwestern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are (from the north clockwise) the district Ludwigslust-Parchim in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the district Ostprignitz-Ruppin in Brandenburg, th ...
in northwestern
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...
. It was first documented in 1319, making it the oldest surviving water castle in northern Germany.
Location
The
lowland castle
The term lowland castle or plains castle (german: Niederungsburg, Flachlandburg, Tieflandburg) describes a type of castle that is situated on a lowland, plain or valley floor, as opposed to one built on higher ground such as a hill spur. The cl ...
is located in
Prignitz
Prignitz () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northwestern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are (from the north clockwise) the district Ludwigslust-Parchim in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the district Ostprignitz-Ruppin in Brandenburg, th ...
. Due to its picturesque location in a region of forests and lakeland, the castle was the summer residence of the bishops of
Havelberg
Havelberg () is a town in the district of Stendal, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the Havel, and part of the town is built on an island in the centre of the river. The two parts were incorporated as a town in 1875. It has a populati ...
in the
Middle Ages
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 period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
.
History
The castle was first mentioned in 1319, Bishop Reiner of Havelberg having purchased it from Margrave
Waldemar of Brandenburg
Waldemar the Great (german: Waldemar der Große; – 14 August 1319), a member of the House of Ascania, was Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal from 1308 until his death. He became sole ruler of the Margraviate of Brandenburg upon the death of ...
.
In 1548 Plattenburg became the seventh Prignitz district. After the death of the last
bishop of Havelberg, Busso II, the
Elector of Brandenburg
This article lists the Margraves and Electors of Brandenburg during the period of time that Brandenburg was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Mark, or ''March'', of Brandenburg was one of the primary constituent states of the Hol ...
,
Joachim II, who had recently converted to the Lutheran Church, had his son
Frederick IV elected as Bishop of Havelberg in 1551.
In 1552, the preacher Joachim Ellefeld burned the
Wilsnack
Bad Wilsnack (until 1929 Wilsnack) is a small town in the Prignitz district, in Brandenburg, Germany. The former pilgrimage site of the Holy Blood of Wilsnack has been officially recognised as a spa town (''Bad'') since 1929. It is the administrati ...
's
holy blood hosts and was incarcerated at the Plattenburg. Elector Joachim II pledged the castle to his chamberlain,
Matthias of Saldern. In 1560 he was given the castle and estate (including
Wilsnack
Bad Wilsnack (until 1929 Wilsnack) is a small town in the Prignitz district, in Brandenburg, Germany. The former pilgrimage site of the Holy Blood of Wilsnack has been officially recognised as a spa town (''Bad'') since 1929. It is the administrati ...
) as a heritable and personal
enfeoffment
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 ...
.
Around 1600 an expansion of the upper castle was carried out in the
Late Renaissance
Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy ...
style under Burchard von Saldern. In 1631, during the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
, the King of Sweden
Gustavus Adolphus
Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...
issued a writ of protection (''Schutzbrief'') for the lords of Plattenburg. Some time later taught Burchard von Saldern built a new castle chapel in the bakehouse and brewery. In 1675, Swedish troops laid siege to the castle.
In 1724 the construction of timber-framed wing was carried out. The architect was Johann Jakob Müller from
Brunswick. In 1883 the brick tower burned down at temperatures of minus 15 °C, but was rebuilt even higher by Siegfried von Saldern.
Between 1925 and 1945 Sieghard
von Saldern took over lordship of Plattenburg. In 1940 French
prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold priso ...
were billeted in the chapel wing, part of the castle serving as a military
hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...
.
After the estate was expropriated by the state from the von Salderns in 1945, refugee families lived in the castle until 1960. In 1969, the keep was converted into a holiday home for the
East German Deutsche Reichsbahn
The Deutsche Reichsbahn or DR ''(German Reich Railways)'' was the operating name of state owned railways in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), and after German reunification until 1 January 1994.
In 1949, occupied Germany's railwa ...
, and it was used as such until 1991. That same year, an association was founded to promote and preserve the Plattenburg and restoration began which has continued to the present (2008). In 1995, a memorial stone was erected in front of the varlets' house by the
Federation of Expellees to the victims of forced displacement after the Second World War.
Present use
Today the Plattenburg is home to museum rooms, the wedding room of the municipality of Plattenburg and has overnight accommodation for around 30 people.
The Plattenburg is the last station on the Pilgrim Way from Berlin to Wilsnack to the
Church of the Holy Sacrament in Bad Wilsnack.
Events
* Aquamaria Festival
* Medieval castle spectacular
* Rock night at the Plattenburg
* Plattenburg Round Table in the restaurant in the castle cellars (medieval banquet)
Site
Architectural features include examples of remarkable craftsmanship and artistic artefacts of the Late Renaissance period (door, sandstone staircase, fireplace) in 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 ...
(''Rittersaal'') and the halls in the Bishop's Wing.
Literature
* Torsten Foeelsch: ''Die Plattenburg''. In: Schlösser und Gärten der Mark, Berlin 1993 (1st ed.)
* Torsten Foelsch: ''Adel, Schlösser und Herrenhäuser in der Prignitz. Beiträge zur Kultur- und Kunstgeschichte einer kurmärkischen Landschaft'', Perleberg 1997
External links
Die Burg auf der Seite der Gemeinde PlattenburgMaterial zur Plattenburgin der Sammlung Duncker der Zentral- und Landesbibliothek Berlin (PDF; 199 kB)
{{Authority control
Castles in Brandenburg
Buildings and structures in Prignitz
Water castles in Germany
Brick Gothic