Ackeburg: A High-Medieval Hill Castle in Germany
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.6
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Germany
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Holy Roman Empire
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page6 sections
History
Castle of the Lords of Ackeburg
Ackeburg, also called Ackenburg, is a high-medieval hill castle in Germany, near Meisdorf in the borough of Falkenstein/Harz, Saxony-Anhalt. It was first mentioned in 1216 as the seat of castellans serving the counts of Falkenstein, and its owners were the lords of Ackeburg. The High Middle Ages, the central period of medieval European history from roughly the 11th through the 13th centuries, provide the historical setting for the castle’s foundation and use.
Abandonment
From about 1400, Ackeburg and the associated village of Akkeburg appear to have been abandoned or destroyed. Nothing of the former village has survived. The castle site now lies within the Harz/Saxony-Anhalt Nature Park and the Selke Valley nature reserve.
Remains
Hilltop defences
Ackeburg occupied a rocky ridge at about 333.2 metres above sea level, north of and high above the Selke Valley. The fortress comprised a main ward and an outer ward, protected by a neck ditch and several ramparts. A neck ditch is a defensive trench cut across the narrow approach to a hilltop or ridge-top fortress. The main ward stood on a rocky eminence and measured about 30 metres in diameter, while an outer ward approximately 11 metres across lay higher on the eminence toward its highest point. Parts of the neck ditch and transverse rampart remain visible, with a transverse rampart being an embankment or defensive bank running across a site or its approach.
Position above the Selke Valley
The castle stood between Mägdesprung and Meisdorf, about 3.7 kilometres southwest of Meisdorf village church. Old Falkenstein Castle lies approximately 1.2 kilometres southwest, while Falkenstein Castle, also called New Falkenstein, lies about 1 kilometre southeast across the Selke Valley. Around 100 metres south-southeast of the ruins, the Selkesicht viewing point occupies a height of approximately 330 metres above sea level and overlooks the valley and New Falkenstein Castle. The Selke flows south of the viewpoint at about 205 metres above sea level, producing a height difference of roughly 125 metres between the river and the viewpoint.
Nearby sites
