Stickhausen Castle is located on the western edge of the village Stickhausen, a district of the
East Frisia
East Frisia or East Friesland (german: Ostfriesland; ; stq, Aastfräislound) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia ...
n municipality
Detern
Detern is a municipality in the district of Leer, in Lower Saxony, Germany.
The Battle of Detern
The Battle of Detern (german: Schlacht von Detern) on 27 September 1426 marked the prelude to the East Frisian rebellion against the rule of the t ...
in the
Landkreis
In all German states, except for the three city states, the primary administrative subdivision higher than a '' Gemeinde'' (municipality) is the (official term in all but two states) or (official term in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia ...
of
Leer in
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 ...
.
Location
The castle is situated on the banks of the
Jümme
Jümme is a collective municipality (''Samtgemeinde'') in the district of Leer (district), Leer in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is named after the River Jümme (river), Jümme which flows through all three constituent communities. It has a ...
. This river, together with the nearby
Leda
Leda may refer to:
Mythology
* Leda (mythology), queen of Sparta and mother of Helen of Troy in Greek mythology
Places
* Leda, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia
* Leda makeshift settlement, Bangladesh, a refugee camp ...
forms the so-called East Frisian ''Mesopotamia'', the Leda-Jümme area. Both rivers were important trade routes in the Middle Ages and early modern times, because they flowed in an east-west direction.
Name
The name of the castle as well as the village is composed of the words ''Sticke'' (stick, pole) and ''Hause'' (house) and means a house fortified with palisades.
History
Unlike the other castles of East Friesia, Stickhausen Castle was never the seat of the East Frisian chieftains. It was built around 1345 by the city of
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
to protect their westbound trade routes. After intense debate, the Hamburg pledged them in about 1453 to the chieftain and later to Count
Ulrich I of East Frisia. This castle was built as the replacement for the older border fortress ''Schlüsselburg'' in Detern. This fortress had been part of a border defense line against the adjacent County of Oldenburg and secured access to East Frisia. After the Schlüsselburg fortress had been destroyed and rebuilt several times, it lost its importance after the construction of Stickhausen Castle and is no longer mentioned in documents.
Sitckhausen Castle initially consisted of a stone house surrounded by a moat. In addition, it had a gatehouse and a bailey with farm buildings. A second wall and a second trench surrounded and protected the entire complex.
Count
Edzard I added the round tower around 1498. It still exists. Edzards participation in the
Saxon feud
The Saxon feud (Dutch: ''Saksische Vete''; Frisian: ''Saksyske Skeel''; German: ''Säschische Fehde'') was a military conflict in the years 1514–1517 between the East Frisian Count Edzard I, ' West Frisian' rebels, the city of Groningen, and C ...
led to a siege of the castle by a coalition of princes led by
George, Duke of Saxony. The caste was conquered and occupied by the coalition for three years.
After the Reformation, Countess
Anna
Anna may refer to:
People Surname and given name
* Anna (name)
Mononym
* Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke
* Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773)
* Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century)
* Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221)
...
built an