Zolchow Castle

The origins of Zolchow Castle date back a long way, with its name of Slavic origin meaning “place of Solek” or “settlement of a man named Sulech”. The complex becomes historically tangible on November 10, 1290, when Heinrich von Friesack transferred a feudal estate of eight hides on the lakeside to the Brandenburg canons. In the following 200 years of their rule, the canons fortified the complex with a twelve-meter-wide moat, a drawbridge, and an earth rampart. The still visible cellar remains made of brick and fieldstone presumably date from the 13th century. In 1528, the canons exchanged the castle with Junker Jakob von Rochow of Golzow. The von Rochow family inhabited the fortified complex until the mid-18th century and erected a multi-story manor house over the old cellar vaults.