Asseburg (castle)

Asseburg
Asseburg
Wittmar
	Ruins of the Asseburg
	Asseburg
Coordinates	52°8′37″N 10°38′35″E / 52.14361°N 10.64306°E
Type	hill castle
Code	DE-NI
Site information
Condition	ruin
Site history
Built	between 1218 and 1223

The Asseburg is a

North Germany

and was considered impregnable. Its purpose was to secure the lands around Wolfenbüttel.

When Gunzelin refused to swear allegiance to Duke

Wolfenbüttel Castle and sieged Gunzelin's son Burchardus de Asseburc (Burchard or Busso of Asseburg) at Asseburg Castle. Burchard was able to withstand during three years, however in 1258 had to relinquish the castle to Duke Albert I. Burchard was then allowed to retreat to Westphalia with his knights, and received a compensation of 400 gold mark for the castle. After Gunzelin's death in 1260, his sons also lost the county of Peine

to the bishop of Hildesheim.

Asseburg became one of the strongest fortresses in the duchy. In 1330 the dukes had to pledge the castle to the city of Brunswick, which was interested in securing the trade routes below. When Duke Henry IV asked the castle back in 1492, threatening another siege, the garrison set fire on the castle and left. It fell into ruins after it was abandoned.

Literature

Hans Adolf Schultz (1980), Burgen und Schlösser des Braunschweiger Landes (in German), Brunswick,
ISBN 3-878840128{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
)

Ulrich Schwarz, ed. (2003), Auf dem Weg zur herzoglichen Residenz Wolfenbüttel im Mittelalter (in German), Brunswick: Appelhans,
ISBN 3-930292-86-6

Friedrich-Wilhelm Krahe (1996), Burgen des deutschen Mittelalters (in German), Augsburg,
ISBN 3-86047-219-4{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
)

Ernst Andreas Friedrich: Die Ruine der Asseburg, S.116-117, in: Wenn Steine reden könnten, Vol. III, Landbuch-Verlag, Hanover, 1995,
ISBN 3-7842-0515-1
.

External links

Location description and photographs on the website of the Braunschweig-Ostfalen region
Photographs of the castle^{[permanent dead link]}
Description at burgenwelt.de
Description at Heimat- und Verkehrsverein Asse
Historic artist's impression
Description at Braunschweigische Landschaft website.