Oberwiederstedt Castle

The origins of the castle date back to 1261, when it served as an alternative residence for Dominican nuns who had previously resided in Kupferberg near Hettstedt. This use continued until the Reformation and the associated secularization. In the 17th century, the estate came into the possession of the baronial family von Hardenberg through marriage. Here, in 1772, the poet Friedrich von Hardenberg, better known as Novalis, was born. Hans Freiherr von Hardenberg, who later became district administrator and vice president of the government, was also born here. The knight's estate remained the family seat until the family's expropriation and expulsion in October 1945. During the GDR era, it was used as a retirement home until 1981, but then fell into disrepair and was even removed from the list of protected monuments in the mid-1980s. A citizens' initiative in 1989 prevented its demolition and led to the founding of the "Interessengemeinschaft Novalis," now known as Kuratorium Novalis-Geburtshaus e. V.