page_title: Calenberg Castle
section_title: Fall of the fortress
hierarchical_section_title: Calenberg Castle / Fall of the fortress
caption_attribution_description: English: en: A 1771 map showing Calenberg, Lauenstadt and Schulenburg in the borough of Pattensen, Lower Saxony, Germany. The map is not north-oriented. Key: a. The Amt of Hof zu Calenberg; b. Kitchen and arboretum; c. Old castle of Calenberg; d. Licent–Bedienten accommodation; e. Deputat–Bedienten accommodation; f. Oehlmühle millpond; g. Little Pond; k. Posen Pond; l. The hop garden; m. Deputat garden; n. The mill; o. Garden; p. Water overshoot; q. The wells by the ponds Deutsch: Ausschnitt einer historischen Karte aus dem Jahr 1771 mit den Berg Calenberg, Alt Calenberg, Lauenstadt und Schulenburg. Original-Bilderklärungen: a. Der Amt Hof zu Calenberg; b. Küchen- und Baumgarten; c. Alte Schloss Calenberg; d. Licent—Bedienten Wohnung; e. Deputat—Bedienten Wohnung; f. Oehlmühlen—Teich; g. Kleiner—Teich; k. Posen—Teich; l. Der Hopfen—Garten; m. Deputat—Garten; n. Die Mühle; o. Garten dabei; p. Wasser Überfall; q. Die Wannen bei den Teichen;
context_page_description: Calenberg Castle was a medieval lowland castle in central Germany, near Schulenburg in the borough of Pattensen, 13 km west of the city of Hildesheim. It was built as a water castle in 1292 by the Welf duke, Otto the Strict, in der Leine river meadows between 2 branches of the Leine river on the southern part of the chalk marl hill of the Calenberg. At the start of the 16th century it was converted into a fort. In the 15th century, Fort Calenberg gave its name to the Welf Principality of Calenberg. Following the Thirty Years' War it lost its military importance and was slighted. Today it is a ruin with underground vaults that are surrounded by high ramparts.
context_section_description: After the Thirty Years War the fortress was no longer capable against the greater ranges of guns. In addition there was also a security risk because, if enemies took possession of it, they could threaten the Calenberg Land.
  As a result, the castle was abandoned and, in 1690, demolished due to its dilapidated state. In 1692 Calenberg Fortress was slighted, the southern castle was removed and the moats were filled in. Consequently, the city of Hanover was fortified. In 1669 on the left bank of the Leine the desmesne of New Calenberg (Neues Calenberg) was established in the present-day Calenberg Manor House (Hausgut Calenberg) in Schulenburg, along with the then brewery of 1673 and with the Amt of Calenberg, which acted as an intermediate administration until the 19th century.
  In 1765, from the stones of the demolished castle, a prison (Criminal-Gefängnis) was built in the northeastern part of the fortress site. It was surrounded by protective walls and served as a gaol until 1930. It was demolished before the Second World War. South of it stood the accommodation for the prison warders and the legal staff (Gerichtsboten); here there were 2 detention cells with barred windows. This building later served as a private house with an outbuilding to the south; it had been demolished by 1981. 
  A row of two half-timbered houses dating from 1830 stood centrally on the foundation of the west wing of the early 14th-century castle. To the south was a stone building, the southern cellar entrance of which still exists and is called the Corvinus Cellar (Corvinuskeller). The area lying to the east of the demolished castle was used as a garden. The buildings were occupied by three families in 1981, but became so dilapidated that they had to be completely removed in the following years. The gardens were planted with forest trees. A hydrant by the track indicates where the old buildings used to be. Although the buildings were removed, the cellars remained, several entrances were filled in, others are still open. By 1990 the ruins were restored by Rasch, a stonemasons' company from Schulenburg, using stones found on the site. One of their finds was a decorative stone that resembled a coat of arms, which was set over the lintel of the entrance to the Corvinus Cellar. In the Corvinus Cellar is the inscription "Have patience, brother".
  In the 19th century King George V of Hanover built Marienburg Castle on nearby Schulenberg Hill (Schulenburger Berg) for his wife Marie of Saxe-Altenburg. Today Marienburg is owned by Prince Ernst August of Hanover, housing his administration, a museum and a restaurant. After the annexation of the Kingdom of Hanover by Prussia in 1866, Marienburg remained a private property while Calenberg Castle and its royal demesne became state owned. After 1920 however, following a compensation agreement, the demesne was returned to the House of Hanover, together with other property. The demesne buildings were sold in 2011, but the farmlands are still owned by the former royal family.
caption: The Calenberg hill in 1771. The map is not north-oriented. Key to the original: a. Calenberg Demesne (to the left of the river); b. Kitchen and arboretum; c. Old castle of Calenberg; d. Licent–Bedienten accommodation; e. Deputat–Bedienten accommodation; f. Oehlmühle millpond; g. Little Pond; k. Posen Pond; l. The hop garden; m. Deputat garden; n. The mill; o. Garden; p. Water overshoot; q. The wells by the ponds.
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