Zolchow Castle

Burg Zolchow refers to the remains of a fortified residential complex from the early Middle Ages on the Großer Plessower See near the village of Kemnitz, which belongs to the city of Werder (Havel).

The name Zolchow (before 1301 Zolgowe), derived from Zolkow, comes from a Slavic language and means "place of Solek" or "settlement of a man named Sulech". The name Solek stands for "locator". Immediately at the crossing of the A 10 over the Plessower See are the remains of a dilapidated farmstead. To this day, the ruins, partially covered by wild growth between the motorway built in the 1930s and the nearby lake shore, are called Burg Zolchow by the local population.

At this important, because narrow, lake crossing, there was a settlement of the Heveller long ago. However, the first historical date is November 10, 1290. On this day, Heinrich von Friesack (Henricus von Vriesick) transferred a feudal estate of eight hides (about 140 hectares) called Zolgowe on the lakeshore to the Brandenburg canons. For them, the area was a safe refuge during the recurring armed conflicts in the still young Margraviate of Brandenburg. During the 200 years of their rule over Zolchow, they built a twelve-meter-wide moat, ending on both sides in the Plessower See, with a drawbridge and an almost insurmountable earthen rampart (Latin: Vallum) for fortification. The still clearly visible cellar remains of the lowland castle, made of red bricks and worked fieldstones, are likely from the 13th century. In 1528, the Brandenburg canons made a deal with Junker Jakob von Rochow zu Golzow. They exchanged the castle for levies and income from the villages of Tremmen and Markee. From this time until the mid-18th century, members of the Zolchow, Gollwitz, and Reckahn lines of the von Rochow family lived in the fortified complex. On the much older cellar vaults, they had a multi-story manor house built with a steep gable roof and a tower-like bay window. Around 1750, the von Rochows moved to the Plessow manor house. Zolchow thereafter served only as an outwork. To enable agricultural use of the area, the rampart was leveled in 1805 and the former moats were filled with the earth masses. A fire severely damaged the farm building in 1892, and the other structures also increasingly fell into disrepair. After the residential house served as a grain and potato store for many years, it was demolished in 1916. The remaining smaller buildings were left to decay. What remains are the listed ruins of the cellars, meagerly protected by a perforated fence and rotting tarpaulins.