Blankenstein Castle, Hattingen, Germany

Blankenstein Castle was built originally in 1227-1243 by Adolf I, Count of Mark. It was further developed over the course of 200 years by the Counts of the Mark. By 1425, Blankenstein was one of the most important castles in the county. In 1614, shortly before the Thirty Years' War, it was occupied by Spanish troops. From 1637, the castle fell into disrepair so that, in September 1662, Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg ordered its demolition. Only the tower and parts of the curtain wall remained.

In 1860, the owner of the ruin, the employer, Gustav vom Stein, began to rebuild the castle and established a factory there. The property has belonged to the city of Bochum since 1922, but the town is looking for an alternative due to the costs. From 1957 to 1959, most of the buildings of the 19th century were pulled down, but some still remain.

The tower can still be visited and offers a good view over Bochum and the Kemnader Lake.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Shashi (12 months ago)
Visit the tower in Autumn (or Herbst) The foliage colours make the view look like a painting.! They have a restaurant inside the castle, try some delicious waffles here. Service is fast and price is nominal. The decor is very in tune with the castle. I've been here multiple times and sometimes I would like to think we're they eating waffles when this castle was newly built in the year 1243CE.!

Gangalic Catalin (17 months ago)
Tldr; really great small fortress that's worth a visit. First of all, the entry is free of charge and is easily accessible even with reduced mobility thanks to the small stone bridge. Also, getting to fortress is pretty trivial from the two or the bus station. If you stop at the closest bus station geographically, be ready to go down a small hill and up some stairs. Better stop at the station closer to Hattingen and just walk through the small town to the church, then to the fortress. Inside the fortress it's possible to climb up the main tower by the gate. It may need some effort, but at the end you get a great 360° view over the surroundings. In case you want to take a bite, there is a restaurant inside, but also a food truck. Enjoy your visit!

Steven Bunner (17 months ago)
Nice views, great area for eating outside

Aleksandar Milosavljevic (18 months ago)
Very nice place for a family visit. Plus they can organize every kind of celebration because there is a place for it.

akhil murali (2 years ago)
Calm and Relaxing. Best place to indulge amongst the remainings of the past if you're near bochum.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

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Historic Site of the week

Broch of Gurness

The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.

The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.

The broch continued to be inhabited while it began to collapse and the original structures were altered. The cistern was filled in and the interior was repartitioned. The ruin visible today reflects this secondary phase of the broch's use.

The site is surrounded by three ditches cut out of the rock with stone ramparts, encircling an area of around 45 metres diameter. The remains of numerous small stone dwellings with small yards and sheds can be found between the inner ditch and the tower. These were built after the tower, but were a part of the settlement's initial conception. A 'main street' connects the outer entrance to the broch. The settlement is the best-preserved of all broch villages.

Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.

At some point after 100 AD the broch was abandoned and the ditches filled in. It is thought that settlement at the broch continued into the 5th century AD, the period known as Pictish times. By that time the broch was not used anymore and some of its stones were reused to build smaller dwellings on top of the earlier buildings. Until about the 8th century, the site was just a single farmstead.

In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.

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