Burg Arpshagen: A Former Lowland Castle Complex in Germany
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 3.3
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Germany
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Holy Roman Empire
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page8 sections
History
Burg Arpshagen, also known as Plessenburg, is a former castle complex in Germany west of Klütz, with origins probably dating to around 1200 and a Renaissance fortified house built during the first half of the seventeenth century. The settlement developed in the northern part of the Nordwestmecklenburg district, in the historical Land of Klütz.
Medieval Origins and Lordship
Arpshagen was probably established around 1200 by a settler named Erpus on a clearing in the forest. By the time the settlement appeared as Erpushagen in the Ratzeburg Tithe Register of 1230, a lowland castle probably already stood there. A tithe register recorded ecclesiastical dues owed to a church institution. One-third of Arpshagen’s tithe belonged to the Bishopric of Ratzeburg, while the Lords of Mecklenburg exercised secular authority and feudal overlordship in the Land of Klütz.
Heinrich von Plessen, a knight and councillor involved in princely regency, was the first recorded feudal vassal of Arpshagen in the early fourteenth century. A feudal vassal held land or authority from an overlord in return for defined obligations. The Plessen family remained associated with the estate until 1723, when Jakob Levin von Plessen sold it to Friedrich Johann Freiherr von Bothmer, acting for his brother Hans Caspar von Bothmer.
Early Modern Residence
During the first half of the seventeenth century, a two-storey fortified house was built at Arpshagen. It had large windows and a Renaissance portal, an entrance framed with architectural elements associated with the Renaissance style that revived classical forms in Europe from the fifteenth century onward.
Demolition and Land Reform
In the late nineteenth century, a new residence for the tenant was built about 200 metres northwest of the castle island. After 1900, the fortified house and outer bailey were demolished. The outer bailey was the enclosed area outside the principal stronghold, where domestic and agricultural buildings were commonly located. The estate was expropriated and divided for settlement during the land reform of 1945, bringing the estate’s historical existence to an end.
Part of the silted-up castle moat was restored in 1991. The moat and the small castle island were then included in the archaeological-monument register of Nordwestmecklenburg.
Remains
Castle Island and Defenses
Burg Arpshagen survives as a small castle island surrounded by a partly filled moat that still carries water. It was a lowland castle of motte type, meaning that its principal fortified structure stood on a raised mound enclosed by a ditch or moat. The main castle island was enclosed by a rampart and moat, while a semicircular outer bailey had defenses arranged in a similar way. Remnants of those outer defenses remain visible.
Medieval Towers and Domestic Buildings
A description from around 1596 records a massive medieval tower on the island. The three-storey tower measured approximately 11 by 9 metres, had a stone roof, and included cellars. An adjoining tower, called an Arckener, was about the same height and measured approximately 5.4 by 4.7 metres. It too had a stone roof and cellar.
Beside the towers stood a two-storey half-timbered residential building, using a visible timber framework with infill walls. The building had a chimney and stone roof. A separate one-storey half-timbered structure contained a milk room. These buildings were described around 1596 as old but relatively well preserved.
Outer Bailey and Later Residence
Access to the outer bailey passed through a gatehouse. Within the enclosure stood a thatched half-timbered farmhouse with stalls, a barn, a brewery, and separate cattle, horse, and livestock stalls. A thorn hedge enclosed the farmyard.
The tenant’s late-nineteenth-century residence stands about 200 metres northwest of the castle island. The restored water-bearing section of the moat and the castle island form the principal surviving physical evidence of the former castle complex.
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