Storkow Castle (german: Burg Storkow) is a

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 period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

castle in the small town of Storkow in the district of

Oder-Spree Oder-Spree is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the eastern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are (from north clockwise) the district Märkisch-Oderland, the district-free city Frankfurt (Oder), Poland, the districts Spree-Neiße and Dahme-Spree ...

in the German state of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a 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 area of 29,480 sq ...

History

The castle would have been built in the mid-12th century during German settlement – probably on the site of a Slavic

marsh castle A marsh or marshland castle (german: Sumpfburg) is a type of lowland castle that is situated in marshy or boggy countryside. It uses the natural inaccessibility of the terrain to its defensive advantage. In contrast to a moated castle, with a m ...

. Its builder is likely to have been Margrave Conrad I of

Meißen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrech ...

. The castle is first mentioned in 1209. Until 1382 the lords of Strehla were resident at the castle. They were succeeded by the lords of Bieberstein. In 1518 Ulrich of Bieberstein enfeoffed the castle to the Bishop of Lebus, Dietrich of Bülow. The castle was then expanded into an episcopal ''

Residenz Residenz () is a German word for "place of living", now obsolete except in the formal sense of an official residence. A related term, Residenzstadt, denotes a city where a sovereign ruler resided, therefore carrying a similar meaning as the modern ...

''. In 1538, Stefan Meiße, a friend and comrade-in-arms of Hans Kohlhase, was tortured to death at the castle. In 1555 the last Roman Catholic bishop of Lebus, John VIII of Horneburg (1551 – 1555), died here. In 1556 the castle and lordship went to Margrave John of Brandenburg-Küstrin. After his death the castle and estate finally ended up in the possession of the

elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of ...

s of

. In 1627, during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

, the castle was badly damaged It was rebuilt as a small Renaissance residence, but suffered more damage, this time by

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames a ...

, in 1775. In 1910, the architect Johann Emil Schaudt bought the site and had it remodelled in a Romanesque historic style. Between 1934 and 1945, it was used as a

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

centre (a ''Jugendburg''). From 1945 to 1978, municipal offices were housed in the castle. In 1978 the site was destroyed by a major fire. Between 2000 and 2009 the building was gradually rebuilt. The re-inauguration of the castle took place at Pentecost in 2009 as part of the 800th anniversary celebrations of the town of Storkow. Since May 2009 the visitor information centre for the Dahme-Heideseen Nature Park has been located at Storkow Castle. In addition to the permanent exhibition entitled "People and Nature - a Journey Through Time" about the nature and environment in the nature park, there are also changing exhibitions.

Gallery

File:Die Burg Storkow.jpg, View of the whole castle File:Storkow Burg.jpg, View from the northwest File:Storkow Mark Burg Ruine.jpg, The west side before restoration (2005) File:LOS 08-13 img10 Storkow.jpg, Building with oriel on the west side (2013) File:Storkow-Mauer an der Suedseite.jpg, Wall on the south side (2009) File:03-Storkow-Suedostecke.jpg, Wall at the southeast corner (2009) File:LOS 08-13 img11 Storkow.jpg, Building on the east side (2013) File:05-Storkow-Hofseite des Gebaeudes an der Westseite.jpg, West side of the courtyard (2009)

Literature

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External links

Storkow Castle at storkow-stadt.de

Survey and renovation of Storkow Castle
{{Authority control Castles in Brandenburg Heritage sites in Brandenburg Buildings and structures in Oder-Spree Water castles in Germany Marsh castles