This abandoned castle has been used as a backdrop for a series of children's movies in Germany, and since you can legally visit it, it is in great condition and pretty well-known in the urbex "community". And so it had been on our list of places to visit for more than a few years, when in August of 2018, we got the opportunity when the castle was right on the way between two places where we were staying during our summer vacation. So we called up the caretaker a few days before and set a date and time for us to come by.
It was one of the hottest days of the year. As we drove south from the Harz mountains, the temperature constantly climbed until it reached a solid 41,5°C (177°F). Thank God for air conditioned cars! When we parked the car under some trees near the castle and opened the doors, we were hit in the face by a wall of heat. It was so hot that we didn't really want to get out of the car - but after all, there was the castle waiting for us...so we grabbed our gear and walked towards the arched door leading into the courtyard.
We were greeted by the caretaker and his wife. The wife was really friendly and made a bit of smalltalk as we paid the "visitor's fee", while the caretaker himself was a really grumpy guy. He walked from his chair to a riding mower, signaled us to follow him and then drove about maybe forty meters to a side door of the castle. He almost crashed the thing into the door and without even getting up, he put the key in the keyhole and unlocked the door. Then he backed up the mower and drove back forty meters to his chair.
We had hoped that because of the thick walls it would be at least a bit cooler inside the castle - but we were so wrong. It had been really hot in the region for weeks, and so the castle did have a lot of time to really heat up, so it was less than enjoyable. But the castle sure made up for the unpleasant temperature. Rarely have we seen such beauty and craftsmanship, and although some parts of the castle have been changed a little for the movies, you an still imagine what the place must have looked like in its day.
We first walked through the entire castle without camera, just to see everything and make a bit of a plan where to start. After that, we spent about three hours walking through the place and photographing every room.
As we were finished, we took our mandatory selfie - with to this day is one of my favorite selfies - packed our stuff, locked the door and gave back the key. It was still hot as hell outside, but the prospect of getting back into the air-conditioned car and driving to the next destination - where there would be cold drinks - gave us the boost we needed :)
To find out about the history of this place and to check out all the photos, click the button below.
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