Burg Werle: An Obodrite Fortress in Germany
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.1
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Germany
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Unclassified
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page5 sections
History
Burg Werle is a former Obodrite fortress in Germany, near present-day Kassow. The Obodrites were a West Slavic political confederation in the southern Baltic region. Slavic inhabitants built the fortress around AD 600, and it was probably abandoned in the thirteenth century.
Twelfth-Century Conflicts
During the German eastward colonization, the fortress was repeatedly besieged and captured. In 1160, Henry the Lion, the powerful German duke who ruled as Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, reportedly took Werle through a ruse and killed the Slavic prince Niklot.
Niklot’s sons, Pribislaw I and Wertislaw, recovered the fortress but surrendered it again in 1163. During Henry the Lion’s punitive campaign against the brothers in the winter of that year, Wertislaw was captured while defending Werle and executed.
Seat of the Princes of Werle
Following a peace settlement, the fortress was transferred to Pribislaw I. It then became the seat of the Princes of Werle and their government, giving the stronghold a political role beyond its earlier military function.
Remains
Mound and Site Setting
Werle was a lowland castle, meaning a fortified site built on relatively flat or marshy ground rather than on a natural hill or mountain. It stood near the Warnow River, northwest of Güstrow, in what is now the Werle district of Kassow. The site survives as an artificially raised mound that marks the former fortress.
A granite glacial erratic weighing approximately six tons has stood on the mound since 1856. The historical names Orle and Wurle are also associated with the fortress.
Nearby sites
