Erxleben Castle

The origins of the complex, a lowland castle with moats, possibly date back to shortly after 1100. Archbishop Wichmann of Magdeburg acquired the castle in 1166. After its destruction by Emperor Otto IV. around 1214, it came into the possession of Knight Gebhard II. von Alvensleben by 1282 at the latest. In the Middle Ages, the castle was often contested, besieged, and burned down in 1352. After further feuds and destructions, including in 1441 by the Dukes of Braunschweig and Lüneburg, Busso IX. von Alvensleben was able to reacquire the mortgaged property in 1505. Following the extinction of the Red Line of the Alvensleben family in 1553, the castle was divided in 1554 between the White and Black Lines of the family. Both lines erected a common castle chapel of St. Godehard, whose construction lasted from 1562 to 1580 and which was consecrated in 1582. The chapel, which houses numerous tombstones and epitaphs, was renovated in 1674 and received a new organ in 1709/1710.