Etelsen Castle

The construction of Etelsen Castle took place between 1885 and 1887. The brothers Carl Johann Christian and Gottlieb Ernst August von Heimbruch, owners of the manors Varste and Polle, had it built for their nephew, Count Christian zu Reventlow. The childless brothers both served King George V of Hanover. After their deaths in 1895, the von Heimbruch lineage died out, and Count Christian zu Reventlow, son of their sister Johanna Magdalene Elisabeth, became the heir. The architect Karl Hantelmann designed the castle as a Neo-Renaissance building of brick with ashlar elements and Baroque features. Count Christian zu Reventlow resided in the castle from 1896 until his death in 1922. His son Rudolph zu Reventlow later sold the lands, leaving only the castle with its approximately 11-hectare park. From 1937 until the end of the war, it served as a training center for the SA-Gruppe Nordsee.