Germany · Partial ruin
Bodfeld
Bodfeld was a medieval royal hunting lodge (Königspfalz) in the central Harz used intermittently by Ottonian and Salian kings and emperors. Its exact location sank from memory but archaeological and geophysical surveys have identified remains on the Schloßkopf hill spur north of Elbingerode that match a once-extensive lodge complex.
Its prime
1056
Today
Partial ruin
As it stood in 1056
What Bodfeld looked like in its prime.
Sited on a wooded hill spur (Schloßkopf) above a valley, the lodge complex at its prime consisted of stone-built structures clustered within defensible stone curtain walls on two sides. Two round towers projected above the enclosure, flanking a gatehouse on the main approach. Within the walls lay a long great hall, a second assembly hall, a chapel and other residential ranges; roofs and timber fittings completed the buildings, the whole compact plan following the hill spur.
Its story
The story of Bodfeld.
Bodfeld was a small royal palace or lodge — a Königspfalz — established in the central Harz primarily for hunting and, once the town of Elbingerode emerged, for administering the ore mining that underpinned the power of the Ottonian and Salian kings and emperors in medieval Europe.
The exact site of the legendary 'palace' faded from memory, but archaeological and geophysical surveys now place its remains on a hill spur called the Schloßkopf, north of Elbingerode. A hunting house mentioned in 1483 and 1531 was in all probability linked to the village of Erdfeld on the old Halberstadt Military Road, recorded in 1343 in a deed of the Count of Regenstein, barely a kilometre and a half away.
Step inside
8 places to explore in 1056.
The record describes 8 distinct spots at Bodfeld — including 4 interiors: gate passage (through the gatehouse), great hall (interior), second assembly hall and more. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Create History
Recreate Bodfeld with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1056 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
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