Burg Wildeshausen: A Medieval Castle in Germany

Visitor Information

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Official Website: de.wikipedia.org

Country: Germany

Civilization: Medieval European

Site type: Military

Remains: Castle

History

Burg Wildeshausen is located in the town of Wildeshausen in present-day Germany. The castle was constructed during the High Middle Ages by the Wildeshauser branch of the Counts of Oldenburg, a noble family of German origin.

The foundation of Burg Wildeshausen dates to around 1150, when Heinrich I of Oldenburg established it as the residence for his lineage. The castle first appears in written records in 1229. Shortly after, in 1232, Heinrich I’s grandsons expanded the original fortifications and transferred the castle, along with its associated administrative district (vogtei), to the Archbishopric of Bremen as a feudal holding. This arrangement placed the castle under the ecclesiastical authority of Bremen while retaining its function as a noble seat.

Upon the death of Count Heinrich IV of Oldenburg-Wildeshausen in 1270, Burg Wildeshausen and the surrounding town passed fully into the control of the Archbishopric of Bremen. Under the archbishopric’s administration, Wildeshausen was granted Bremen city rights, making it the oldest town with such privileges in the Oldenburg area. During this period, the castle remained an important local stronghold.

By the mid-14th century, specifically before 1346, a more durable stone tower called a bergfried (a tall defensive tower) replaced an earlier wooden one. However, over the following decades, the castle suffered from neglect. Around 1400, it required repairs to restore its condition. In 1429, the castle and town were pawned to the Bishopric of Münster, signaling a shift in control.

In the late 15th century, Wilhelm von dem Bussche, who held the castle as a pledgeholder, undertook substantial restoration efforts between 1495 and 1497 to rehabilitate the structure after long deterioration. Despite these repairs, the castle endured significant destruction twice, once in 1538 and again in 1578, reflecting the turbulent conflicts affecting the region.

Later, in 1665, a Swedish military garrison occupied Burg Wildeshausen, an indication of its ongoing strategic importance. By 1700, the castle complex had been largely dismantled, with the exception of the bergfried which was repurposed as a prison. Eventually, the bergfried itself was demolished in 1789, marking the end of the castle’s physical presence.

Remains

Burg Wildeshausen occupied a strategic position on a rise known as a geest promontory, overlooking the Hunte plain. The site today forms an approximately rectangular motte—a type of raised earthwork typical of medieval castles—with steep slopes surrounding a flattened top. This mound rises around five to six meters high, with a flat plateau measuring roughly 60 by 45 meters across.

Surrounding the motte, remnants of the original defensive ring wall survive beneath an earth embankment up to 1.5 meters tall, particularly along the south and west sides. At the base of the north and west slopes, archaeologists have identified traces of a ditch carved as deep as two meters, likely intended as part of the castle’s outer defenses. To the south of the motte lies a crescent-shaped raised area, interpreted as the remains of an outer rampart, adding an additional layer of fortification.

Around the year 1500, the castle’s internal buildings were laid out around a central courtyard that contained a well, indicating attention to water supply within the defenses. West of the principal bergfried stood a three-story residential house with a tiled roof. This structure housed a great hall and kitchen, serving as the main living and ceremonial space. Attached to it was the kemenate, a heated chamber designed to provide living and sleeping quarters, valued for comfort during colder months. Southward was a three-part building serving economic functions such as storage and workshops.

The castle’s fortifications included an embankment surrounded at its base by a palisade—a sturdy wooden fence—and further protected by a moat filled with water from the nearby Hunte River. Atop the embankment was a breastwork, a defensive earth barrier constructed from two successive layers of earth-filled fencing. Positioned within these were blockhouses—small fortified structures equipped with loopholes, narrow slits in the walls for defenders to shoot through. These features collectively demonstrate the castle’s defensive capabilities toward the end of its active use.