Schraplau Castle (Ruin)

Schraplau was already mentioned as “Scrabenlebaburg” in the Hersfeld Tithe Register between 880 and 899, and in 979 as the fortified settlement “Scroppenlevaburch”. At this time, the Altenburg, a castle complex built by Slavs in the 9th to 10th centuries, likely already existed, as excavations confirm. In the 10th and 11th centuries, the castle was owned by the imperial direct lords of Schraplau, whose lineage died out in 1196 with Egeloff von Schraplau. Around 1200, the Archbishopric of Magdeburg took over the feudal lordship and built the Romanesque castle in the western part of the Altenburg. This was later granted to the Burgraves of Magdeburg. In the 13th century, the family of Schraplau, a collateral line of the Querfurt noble lords, experienced an expansion of power. Burchard III von Schraplau became Archbishop of Magdeburg in 1307, but died in a feud in 1325. The heavily indebted lordship of Schraplau was sold to the Counts of Mansfeld in 1335.