Poggenburg Manor

The Thedinghausen Town Hall was originally built in the 13th century in the historic and still current town center of Thedinghausen. It was originally called Poggenburg, which stands for Toad Castle. Contrary to what the name suggests, the Town Hall was never built as a castle, but was a farmstead equipped with defensive structures.

The Poggenburg was subordinate to Thedinghausen Castle, built in 1285 by Archbishop Giselbert of Bremen, and was used intermittently as an official residence from 1580 onwards.

From 1721, nobleman Friedrich Andreas Scheele was the owner, who presumably used the estate for agricultural purposes. In 1769, Lunser Pastor Johann Heinrich Gudewill acquired the property. His son Johann Daniel Heinrich Gudewill transformed the manor into a trading estate. Trade in linen, tobacco, financial transactions, and much more flourished. In the course of this economic success, around 1800, the ensemble was expanded to include the warehouse, the barn, and the manor house. In 1840, the trading estate was liquidated due to a lack of direct heirs, and the Poggenburg fell to the Grimm family. In memory of the Gudewill era, the Thedinghausen secondary school was named after the family.

During the Revolution of 1848, the Brunswick government ordered a popular armament under the leadership of Amtmann Lüders. A flag donated by the ladies in the entrance hall of the Town Hall still commemorates this today.

Since 1972, the Poggenburg has served as the seat of the municipality and the Samtgemeinde Thedinghausen.