Built by the knights of Leiben around 1113, the Leiben Castle had an eventful history and constantly changed hands. The 800-year-old castle towers high above the surrounding countryside on its mighty cliff. One of its highlight features is a unique 17th century wooden coffered ceiling, which depicts the Cycle of Planet Deities by Hendrik Goltzim from 1569.
In 1989 the municipality carefully restored the castle as a listed historical building and made it available to locals and visitors. The castle vaults contain an agricultural equipment museum with exhibit items from the first-ever generation of tractors and impressive moving trial models that were individually made. Open on Sundays and holidays from Easter Monday to the end of October. Group tours are available.
References:Dryburgh Abbey on the banks of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders was founded in 1150 in an agreement between Hugh de Morville, Constable of Scotland, and the Premonstratensian canons regular from Alnwick Abbey in Northumberland. The arrival of the canons along with their first abbot, Roger, took place in 1152.
It was burned by English troops in 1322, after which it was restored only to be again burned by Richard II in 1385, but it flourished in the fifteenth century. It was finally destroyed in 1544, briefly surviving until the Scottish Reformation, when it was given to the Earl of Mar by James VI of Scotland. It is now a designated scheduled monument and the surrounding landscape is included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.
David Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan bought the land in 1786. Sir Walter Scott and Douglas Haig are buried in its grounds.