Polle Castle
Description
The ruins of Polle Castle sit atop a 25-meter-high rocky hill directly above the Weser River near the village of Polle in Lower Saxony’s Holzminden district.
First mentioned in 1285 as the Everstein Castle near Polle, it was a seat of the Counts of Everstein. Likely built around 1200, it became one of their main residences after they lost their original castle to the Welfs in 1284. In 1407, the castle was seized by Duke Henry I of Brunswick during a regional feud. By 1408, it had permanently passed into Welf hands.
The castle was damaged and looted in the Thirty Years’ War—plundered by Tilly's troops in 1623 and burned by Swedish artillery in 1641. While the lower bailey was rebuilt in 1656 (including a Renaissance-style manor house), the upper castle remained in ruins. The manor house was later destroyed in WWII, leaving only its ornate Renaissance gate.
The castle once featured upper and lower sections, thick defensive walls, moats, and drawbridges. Today, parts of the ring wall, the Renaissance gate (1613), and the 20-meter-high round keep with an underground tunnel to a well still stand. The ruins are open to visitors.
The castle hosts today cultural events, including annual fairy-tale plays. Archaeological digs revealed artifacts now displayed in a small castle museum.