Heldenburg Castle

The origins of the Heldenburg date back at least to the 13th century, with the Counts of Dassel or the Welf dukes considered as possible builders. It was first documented in 1320 as “castrum solth”. As early as 1291, the castle came into the possession of Duke Heinrich Mirabilis, who died there in 1322. Its location near a salt spring, Grubenhagen Castle, and the beer town of Einbeck quickly made it the residence of the Dukes of Grubenhagen, who subsequently bore the epithet “von Salzderhelden”. The Heldenburg was also for a long time the only extra-urban mint of the Principality of Grubenhagen. In 1365, the castle withstood a siege by Landgrave Friedrich of Thuringia, being the first castle in German lands to be successfully defended with a cannon. Another siege in 1448 by Landgrave Ludwig the Peaceful of Hesse allegedly failed due to a ruse by the lady of the castle. At the end of the 15th century, alterations followed, and the castle temporarily served as a widow's residence. After the extinction of the Grubenhagen line, the castle passed to the Celle line of the Welfs. From the 18th century onwards, the complex increasingly fell into disrepair, but was renovated in the 1980s.