Stiege Castle

The origin of the castle lies in an old fortress, which was built around 919 by Henry I. In 1203, Count Siegfried von Blankenburg received the castle from Emperor Otto IV as a fief for his loyalty in arms. From that time until 1599, Stiege was the official seat and in the possession of the Counts of Blankenburg-Regenstein. The original hunting lodge was rebuilt, fortified, and extended, and elevated to a comital residence. The castle once had four corner towers, of which only the southwestern one remains today. On the mountain side, there was a deep moat, over which a 40-meter-high drawbridge led. The drawbridge tower has been removed and the castle moat filled in.

During the Peasants' War in 1525, which raged particularly fiercely in the Lower Harz, Stiege Castle was besieged by rebels but managed to hold out. In revenge, the Counts of Blankenburg burned down the village of Allrode around Ascension Day 1525, from which many of the rebels originated. Some Blankenburg counts and countesses lived in Stiege; Count Botho II even moved his residence to Stiege and died there in 1594. In 1599, the last scion of the Blankenburg-Regenstein line of counts died, and the fiefdom of Blankenburg, with the Stiege office, reverted to the Duchy of Brunswick.

The Thirty Years' War followed, which also spread to the Harz from 1625. On their march from the Duchy of Brunswick-Grubenhagen to the Bishopric of Halberstadt, Wallenstein's troops took up winter quarters in Stiege. Wherever these troops passed through and settled, they brought hunger and hardship with them, and they carried the plague, which brought the "great dying." In the three months of their stay, 290 people died in Stiege. Later, around 1644, imperial troops and Swedes followed again, plundering the village and castle once more. The importance of Stiege Castle and its office steadily declined.

The inauguration of the new church in 1711 went down in the annals. Duke Ludwig Rudolf of Brunswick-Grubenhagen with his court and son-in-law Grand Prince Alexius Petrovich consecrated the church and held a grand celebration. Again, great misfortune and hardship were brought by the Napoleonic Wars. Especially in 1806, after the Battle of Jena, the defeated Prussians and Saxons fled into the Harz, pursued by a large number of French. These were quartered in Stiege and the surrounding area, some until 1813, and took the last from the population.

A checkered history followed, at the end of which Stiege Castle was sold to "commoners." Before the Second World War, it belonged to a Brazilian who came from a Brunswick family. In 1945, the owners were dispossessed and expelled by the communists. It was hardly renovated, preserved, or used. For a time, the castle housed a nursing home. Unfortunately, this did not change even after reunification. Until 2005, when a private investor acquired the venerable old building above the idyllic Stieger See.

Now began a period of renovation and refurbishment; a rustic café was created on the ground floor of the old building, where homemade cakes and pastries can be enjoyed. In summer, the outdoor area of the café invites you to enjoy a cozy coffee. Celebrations can also be hosted in the premises. A small romantic home accessory exhibition on the ground floor invites browsing and purchasing. And since 2012, there has been a holiday apartment for up to 12 people in the castle. For an excursion, the castle café is always the right destination.