Bunkenburg

P3

Part of the ring wall, only more visible the rest of the Bunkenburg

The Bunkenburg was an existing in the 13th and 14th century castle in the form of a ring wall, which lay on the Aller opposite Ahlden. From her today is only an approximately 60 m long and 3 m high wall units available. The castle name derives probably from used building material in the form of bog iron, which was popularly known as bunkering.

Location

The castle stable of lowland castle is situated on the northern side of the river Aller on a flat increase at an important transition point in the Middle Ages. The waters shifted its bed over the centuries and thus became the leash and is now the oxbow lake Old leash. Compared to the earlier castle on the other side of the river are Castle Ahlden and place Ahlden. The fort was built in the lowland area of the Aller- glacial valley. Since the 1980s, it is intersected by a country road.

Description

The castle consisted of an oval ring barrier of about 150 m in diameter. Of today about 60 long, 20 m wide and 3 m high section is obtained. He has passed with tall trees and is located north of the main road. In the Wall, a former wood / ground structures of 4 m height is suspected. Remains of buildings no longer find themselves within the walls, they should have been removed in the 17th century for the construction of the opposing castle Ahlden. From the ground plan, it was not a typical lowland castle, but rather a Burgmann settlement with several knights sitting inside the ring wall.

Long after the demise of Bunkenburg a brewery was built in 1700 on a south wall piece by the royal administration. Privatized until the 19th century, it served the mid-20th century as a beverage plant. Today it is a residential building.

Excavations

Due to the planned road construction right through the castle came in 1976 and 1982 archaeological excavations. Here, a fortified moat and a post hole were discovered. The pottery found could be attributed to the 13th and 14th centuries. Within the Walls also shards were from the time of the 9th - 11th centuries and found a granary. It could have been called to the 1295 Alt- Ahlden, which fell without form, and on its ruins later the castle wall was built.

History

The origin of the castle can be seen in connection with the extension of the dominion of the Principality of Lüneburg in the 14th century to the west. Ahlden was at this time land of the diocese of Minden. The Bunkenburg arose at the border and secured the waterway on the Aller. 1431 Ahlden was occupied by the Dukes of Lüneburg.

At the castle there is only a sparse written records. 1310 called on her Burgmannen from the low nobility of the area, including that of Ahlden. As castellan of the Knights of Johann Esch called Earth. One last mention of the castle is done 1340. During the 14th century, they apparently lost in importance and the Burgmannen hiked to the castle Rethem, where you will later find the names of their gender.

Similar fortifications of the area

In the valley of the Aller there were in the vicinity a number of other medieval castles, partly similar design which existed at a distance of a few kilometers. These include fortifications in Bierde (castle Bierde ), nettle ( Castle Blankenburg ) ( Uhlenburg ), testicular Hagen ( Hagen castle testicles ), Rethem (Aller) (castle Rethem ) Grethem (castle Blankenhagen ).