Stadthagen Castle

You can walk around the castle. Across the street is the Stadtgarten, which is also very pretty.

A moated castle was built after 1200 on the Helweg in front of the Sandforde, an important people and trade route, which was soon followed by a settlement, today's Stadthagen.

The old castle park surrounded by a wall with its winding paths, beautiful groups of trees and a wonderful view of the castle is accessible to visitors. In the park there is still an old so-called half-tower from the time of the fortress.

In the years 1534 to 1544 the current castle was built on the site of the moated castle. Around 1880 it was beautified inside and out. The magnificent early Renaissance building is embellished by stately pediments with semicircular spiers decorated with spheres. The masonry of the castle entrance comes from the old moated castle. Remains of the castle moat can still be seen.

Up until 1607, the castle served the Counts of Schaumburg as their residence. Later as widow's seat or residence of the hereditary prince. The entire castle district has belonged to the state since 1919 and is currently the seat of the tax office.

Stadthagen Castle, belonging to the then-ruling counts and later princely house of Schaumburg-Lippe, was built between 1535 and 1539 by Count Adolf XI in Stadthagen on the site of a predecessor structure. This was a moated castle built in 1224 by Count Adolf III of Schaumburg in a clearing in the Dülwald forest.First documented in 1244, the castle must have been part of the town's founding from the very beginning, as its two streets were aligned with it. Extensive construction work is documented for the period around 1300. In 1304, a "house" is mentioned in the castle. In 1406, three castle guards are mentioned. The 15th-century gatehouse was later incorporated into the west wing of the castle.The new castle building, beginning in 1535, was planned and built by master builder Jörg Unkair, who came from Lustnau near Tübingen and had previously worked at the Cistercian monastery of Bebenhausen. He himself selected Obernkirchen sandstone from the Bückeberg near Obernkirchen. The residential palace was designed as a spacious, square, four-winged complex, with its northwest corner open to the town. The dormer windows and wing gables – Italian gables – resemble those of the Schelenburg near Osnabrück, which Unkair had previously built. However, since in Stadthagen, unlike at Schelenburg, he did not have to consider the medieval castle remains, the palace appears welcoming both internally and externally. It was built purely as a residential palace, without any military functions.After its completion in 1539, the Schaumburg state government moved in the following year; the tax and finance authorities also had their headquarters here. In 1608, the government and residence of the Schaumburg counts were relocated to Bückeburg. Later, the palace served as a widow's residence and the residence of the Crown Prince. A comprehensive restoration took place in 1875. After the First World War, the castle became the property of the newly founded Free State of Schaumburg-Lippe in 1919, and of the state of Lower Saxony since 1946.The castle is considered the oldest and most influential Weser Renaissance monument in Lower Saxony.Source: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schloss_Stadthagen