Germany · Ruin
Harzburg
The Harzburg (Große Harzburg) is a former imperial hill castle on the summit of the Großer Burgberg above Bad Harzburg in Lower Saxony, Germany. Built from 1065 and rebuilt in the 12th–13th centuries, it later fell into decay; today only foundation walls, tower fragments and the castle well remain open to the public. The site crowned the conical summit and commanded wide views over the northern Harz foreland.
First raised
1065
Its prime
1218
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1218
The shape it held in its prime.
Perched on a conical hilltop, the Harzburg in its prime presented an enclosed stone fortress of pale grey-brown rubble with high curtain walls running up to the steep rock face. Two bergfrieds dominated the silhouette—a square keep that survives partially reconstructed—and the plateau contained clustered ranges of halls, a collegiate church and service buildings around a central courtyard with the deep castle well. A wide, rock-cut moat split the complex into east and west wings, crossed by a linking bridge.
Its story
The story of Harzburg.
The Harzburg was erected between 1065 and 1068 at the behest of King Henry IV of Germany, an imperial castle crowning the Großer Burgberg above modern Bad Harzburg. Henry had a family vault built here for the remains of his brother, Duke Conrad II of Bavaria, and his young son Henry — but the castle was slighted during the Saxon Rebellion of 1073–75, when even the collegiate church was not spared and the royal tomb was desecrated.
Rebuilding continued until 1180, during Emperor Frederick Barbarossa's conflict with the Welf duke Henry the Lion, and the castle later passed to Barbarossa's Welf successor Otto IV, who died here in 1218. Its character as an imperial fortress remained largely intact until the Hohenstaufen dynasty became extinct, and in 1269 the castle was pledged to the Counts of Wernigerode.
About 1370 the Welf duke Otto of Brunswick-Göttingen occupied the castle during the War of the Lüneburg Succession, entrusting it to his ministerialis Hans von Schwicheldt against fierce protest from the Wernigerode counts. Later used as a robber baron's lair, the hill castle crumbled into ruin over the centuries; today only fragments of the foundation walls and towers are preserved, together with the castle well.
Step inside
10 places to explore in 1218.
The record describes 10 distinct spots at Harzburg — including 2 interiors: collegiate church, three-roomed great hall. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
Recreate Harzburg with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1218 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →Whose castle
Clans who held Harzburg.
The families that held Harzburg for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Wernigerode
The castle was pledged to the Counts of Wernigerode in 1269.
