Oberburg Castle (Heldenbergen)

The exact date of Oberburg's construction is unknown, but it is first mentioned in the 12th century as property of the Lords of Heldenbergen. In 1370, the complex passed to Gottfried von Stockheim, whose family likely acquired it through purchase or marriage. As Oberburg became too small for the growing Stockheim family, Gottfried received permission in 1383 to build Nassburg below Oberburg. After the Heldenbergen line of the Stockheims died out in 1614, inheritance disputes arose, during which Jobst von Adolips forcibly occupied the castle in 1616. A year later, the property fell to Burkhard Engelbrecht von Hattstein, under whose aegis the castle was converted into a palatial estate and a formerly existing main tower was dismantled. After the Hattstein family died out in 1767, Johann Maximilian von Günderrode acquired Oberburg. Later, in 1797, the castle belonged to the Prussian chamberlain Jakob Friedrich von Rohde, who initiated further alterations and had a chapel added to the main building in 1803. In 1886, Oberburg passed into the possession of Hugo Freiherr von Leonhardi.