Burgruine Harzburg

The Harzburg castle ruins are picturesquely situated on the Großer Burgberg, high above the town of Bad Harzburg in the district of Goslar. You can reach it via a cable car or a footpath that leads steeply uphill for several kilometres. The fantastic view of the Harz foreland alone is worth a visit to the Harzburg castle ruins in the Harz Mountains. Some restored parts of the former castle complex of the Große Harzburg can still be seen today: These include the castle well, the remains of a tower, parts of the castle walls and the gate system as well as the foundations of some of the buildings.

The chequered history of Harzburg Castle

Harzburg Castle was once one of the largest, most advanced and most secure castle complexes. As an imperial castle, it was home to kings and emperors and played an important role in the Saxon War.

Former imperial castle

King Henry IV of the Salian dynasty had Harzburg Castle built between 1065 and 1068. The castle was protected on three sides by steep slopes and was considered an impregnable fortress. The Harzburg castle chapel contained a royal crypt in which Henry's first son and his brother Konrad were buried.

The construction of Harzburg Castle was part of a larger castle building project by the Salian king in Saxony. By building numerous castles, Henry wanted to secure his imperial palace in Goslar and emphasise his claim to royal power. This caused great discontent among the Saxon nobles, who saw their own position threatened. This eventually led to the Saxon Revolt, which lasted from the summer of 1073 until the end of 1075. In 1073, Henry IV left the imperial palace in Goslar and retreated to Harzburg Castle. This was then besieged by the rebels. King Henry escaped from Harzburg Castle unnoticed - allegedly via a secret passage in the well. In peace negotiations, the rebels demanded that the king raze several of the unwanted castles - including Harzburg Castle. When Henry did not comply with this demand, the Saxon population attacked Harzburg Castle in the spring of 1074, plundered it and set fire to it. The tombs of the royal crypt were destroyed in the process. A good 100 years later, under Emperor Frederick I - also known as Frederick Barbarossa from the House of Hohenstaufen - the reconstruction of Harzburg Castle began. Although the new castle complex was smaller than the first, it was still impressive.

Emperor Otto IV, the first emperor from the House of Guelph, had the new building completed. In the years between 1208 and 1218, the imperial insignia were kept in the new Harzburg. In 1218, Otto fell seriously ill and was brought to Harzburg Castle, where he died.

Loss of importance under the Hohenstaufen dynasty

After the death of Otto IV, Harzburg Castle was handed over to the Hohenstaufen dynasty, the house of Frederick II, who was now the new emperor. It was last described as an imperial castle, i.e. a castle belonging to the royal estate, in 1222. After that, it was merely the fief castle of various noble owners. Among the changing lords of the castle were the Counts of Wohldenberg, the Counts of Wernigerode, the Counts of Schwicheldt and the Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg. In the 15th century, the three brothers of Schwicheldt used the fortress as a castle for robber barons. The castle gradually fell into disrepair. In 1651, Duke Augustus the Younger of Brunswick-Lüneburg ordered the demolition of what remained of the Harzburg.

Sights in the surrounding area

To the north of the Great Castle Hill rises the Small Castle Hill with the ruins of the Small Harzburg. On the Sachsenberg to the east-south-east are the remains of a rampart which was probably used by the Saxon insurgents as a retreat during the siege of Harzburg Castle.