Germany · Restored
Plesse Castle
Burg Plesse
Plesse Castle is a medieval castle site located north of Göttingen near the village of Bovenden. It was the seat of the noble lords of Plesse, fell out of use in the 17th century, and underwent a 19th‑century restoration to reconstitute the visible complex.
Its prime
1624
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1624
What Plesse Castle looked like in its prime.
Plesse Castle stands near the village of Bovenden north of Göttingen; in its prime (1624) it appeared as a complete medieval castle complex occupying its site above the surrounding settlement and fields. The compound is formed by continuous stone masonry enclosing multiple roofed buildings; rooflines rise above the curtain and form a compact silhouette against the sky. In prime condition the whole ensemble is intact and inhabited, readable as a single fortified residence.
Its story
The story of Plesse Castle.
Plesse Castle, north of Göttingen near the village of Bovenden, was from 1150 the seat of the noble lords of Plesse, who named themselves for the castle. Seeking the protection of a powerful liege lord, in 1447 they transferred the castle to Landgrave Ludwig of Hesse and received it back as a fiefdom.
The house of Plesse became extinct with the death of Dietrich IV of Plesse in 1571, whereupon Landgrave William IV of Hesse-Kassel took possession of the dominion, as was his right as liege lord. Between 1623 and 1624 the landgrave and his family took refuge in the castle several times, but it fell out of use in the 17th century.
First attempts at restoration began in 1821, and between 1853 and 1864, on the initiative of the ruling family of Hanover, the castle was completely restored, the complex that stands today.
Step inside
1 places to explore in 1624.
The record describes 1 distinct spots at Plesse Castle, including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Build Your Own Castle
Recreate Plesse Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1624, a photoreal reconstruction that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate this castle →Castle Siege
Play Castle Siege at Plesse Castle.
A strategy game played on Plesse Castle’s real ground plan: the same surveyed walls shown in the archive below. Post your finite garrison on the battlements between assaults, then hold out as rams, siege towers, trebuchets and sappers arrive in ever-worse waves.
Sign in free to see the garrison muster. One castle costs 150 Clan Coins and is yours forever.
Sign in to take command →Whose castle
Clans who held Plesse Castle.
The families that held Plesse Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Plesse
Seat of the lords of Plesse from 1150 until the house's extinction with Dietrich IV in 1571.
Hesse
Liege lords from 1447; Landgrave William IV of Hesse-Kassel took possession on the Plesse line's extinction in 1571.
From the archive
Plesse Castle on paper: the measured plan and period views.
The survey plan and photographs below are the ground truth this page's reconstructions are checked against, drawn and photographed while the castle was still a working garrison. Every image is public-domain or openly licensed, with its source named.
Plesse, Burg von Nordosten
1624 · Kassel University Library (via Europeana)
CC BY-SA
Plesse, Burg, Entwürfe für das Außenwerk (recto und verso)
1624 · Kassel University Library (via Europeana)
CC BY-SA
Plesse, Burg, Vorburg mit Entwurf für ein bastionäres Außenwerk, dazu "Balneum Mariae"
1624 · Kassel University Library (via Europeana)
CC BY-SA
