Marienburg Castle (Hildesheim)

The settlement around the cathedral of Hildesheim was ruled by the clergy for four centuries and it quickly developed into a town which was awarded market rights by King Otto III in 983.

[2] At the end of the 13th century, Hildesheim had about 5,000 inhabitants and was one of the biggest and richest cities in the North of Germany.

According to the orders given by Henry III, Marienburg Castle was built in 1346–1349 on the river Innerste in the South of Hildesheim, about 6 kilometres from the city[3] The castle was built with three aisles, a high bergfried and very thick walls (2 metres) in a strategically advantageous location on the trade route linking Hildesheim to Goslar, another important merchant city.

In the Thirty Years' War, Marienburg Castle was conquered in 1623, but only the upper floors of the Southern and Eastern aisles suffered some damage.

After the Thirty Years' War, Marienburg Castle was only used for residential purposes and lost its strategic importance.

During the secularization, the Catholic Church lost the castle which was transformed into a government-owned domain.

Vegetables were grown on the fields surrounding the castle, and the two medieval moats were levelled as the space was needed for the cultivation.

Over the centuries, Marienburg Castle has been remodelled and enlarged several times, but the oldest parts dating from the High Middle Ages are well-preserved.