Castle Map

Palace

Schloss Ritzebüttel

Germany · 14th century

Founded
c. 1350
Location
Cuxhaven
Coordinates
53.8571°, 8.69842°
Links
Wikimedia Commons
Open on the map →Official website ↗Wikipedia ↗
Schloss Ritzebüttel in Germany
Photo: Tuxyso · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Description

Ritzebüttel Castle in Cuxhaven was the residence of the Hamburg bailiffs, back when Ritzebüttel still belonged to the city of Hamburg. The castle, part of which dates back to the 14th century, is one of the oldest preserved secular buildings of the North German Brick Gothic style in the region and is now open to visitors.

The castle is based on a residential tower built around 1340 for the feudal lords of Saxe-Lauenburg. It was built just 30 years after the outwardly very similar tower on the island of Neuwerk in Hamburg. After disputes with the city of Hamburg and a subsequent siege by the Hanseatic city in 1393, the castle passed from the Lappes into the possession of Hamburg on July 31, 1394. As it was easy to control the Lower Elbe from Ritzebüttel and the fortress also included large pieces of land, the place was a valuable possession for Hamburg. The city also had access to a winter emergency port and could react more quickly against the pirates of the North Sea from here.

The bailiffs were mostly senators of Hamburg including, among others, the writer and poet Barthold Heinrich Brockes as well as the advocate Amandus Augustus Abendroth. The bailiffs lived for over 500 years in the complex, which was rebuilt from a castle with mostly defensive use to a manor with representative purpose. They had a comprehensive list of privileges as can be seen from the extensive equipment of the manor. Despite that, the actual office in Ritzebüttel was not favoured, as it meant living in the countryside a three days trip away from the luxurious commodities of Hamburg to carry out their official duties.

The jurisdiction and administration of this office got separated in 1864, leading to the Hamburger bailiffs losing a lot of influence. With the exchange of Cuxhaven in 1937 due to the Greater Hamburg Act with Altona, Hamburg, Harburg-Wilhelmsburg and Wandsbek to Prussia, all political meaning of the castle was lost. The building was used for different purposes until 1981. Due to its bad condition it was in dire need of renovation. The renovation got delayed several times due to lack of funding but were ultimately finished in 1996. With a new concept of usage the castle was given to the community and includes a restaurant, exhibition rooms and a wedding room. Every room can be visited, and there are different kinds of markets on the castlegrounds.

Text adapted from “Ritzebüttel Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

In the rankings

Schloss Ritzebüttel ranks #6,675 of 9,902 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #701 of the 927 mapped in Germany. Founded c. 1350, it is older than 55% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 797 atlas entries founded in the 14th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,072 times in the last 60 days, more than 57% of the atlas. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Germany compares in the castle statistics.

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