ヒルターの洞窟・トップ15

Friendly service. In the café-restaurant there are delicious cakes and cappuccino. The terrace is also open in summer.

Because climbing the tower costs 1 euro. There is an animal exhibition and a great panoramic view of the forest and the landscape. The individual trees on the hills are particularly beautiful (in autumn) surrounded by yellow trees. It's worth it.

Today's castle was built in the mid-19th century in neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque style as an imitation of a medieval fortified tower. It consists of a 26 m high tower in the style of a keep, flanked by two single-storey side wings in the style of a palace. There are no mantle walls or other fortifications; in this respect it is more of a residential tower than a castle in the classic sense. The castle now houses a restaurant for day trippers and occasional events. In the tower room there is an exhibition on the local flora and fauna. The crenellated viewing platform on the tower is accessible and offers a wide view over the city of Melle and the surrounding area, especially after hurricane Kyrill snapped off many surrounding trees in 2007. Around the castle was the more than 200 ha large wildlife park Diedrichsburg with numerous wild boars, moufflons and sika deer running free. The wildlife park was closed in 2021. The site is a popular excursion destination in the region and part of the TERRA.vita nature park. Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diedrichsburg

The castle complex has been partly preserved, partly rebuilt, or replaced by other buildings. Teaching events are held here, there's a small open-air theater, a playground, a café open on weekends, and a terrace with a magnificent view.

From the parking lot it's about 700 m high, although steep, but it's worth it ... you can also sit in the café above ...

the climb looks difficult but it's worth it

A CASTLE - almost 900 years old and completely intact! First documented in 1160 - still architecturally characterized today by the Gothic residential tower (12th century) and the moat (from the Middle Ages) - initially the ancestral seat of the noblemen von Sledesen, then passed to the von Schele family through marriage (1396) - for 620 years until today (current administrator Joachim Kellermann von Schele). After a fire (1490), the Renaissance building in the Weser Renaissance style was built from the rubble stones. Later, the northern main moat was filled in and a north wing was built. From 1801, the castle courtyard was enlarged to the north. The most famous citizen of Schelenburg Castle was the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hanover Eduard von Schele zu Schelenburg in 1805.

Harkotten Castle is a rare double castle (Castle von Ketteler and Castle von Korff) and in private use. However, you can stop by the garden café there for coffee and cake and take a look at the facility from the outside.