Greene Castle

Greene Castle was a medieval spur castle near Greene in Lower Saxony. Today, the castle ruin, situated at 181 m above sea level, lies in a park-like area on a protruding mountain spur above the Leine valley. It consists essentially of the 25 m high keep.

The castle was built in 1308 by the nobles of Homburg to protect their estates in this area and an important trade route across the Leine. In 1409, the last Homburger died; his widow Schonette received the widow's right to the castle, which, according to a contract of October 9, 1409, was bequeathed to Duke Bernhard of Braunschweig. This sparked a dispute with the Bishop of Hildesheim, to whom the Welfs finally ceded Greene Castle in 1414 for 12,000 Rhenish guilders, reserving the right of repurchase. In 1451, the Bishop of Hildesheim granted Duke Wilhelm the Elder of Braunschweig the right to redeem Greene Castle for the agreed pledge sum. It was not until 1499 that the Welfs were able to raise the 12,000 Rhenish guilders and take possession of Greene as an administrative district.

In 1553, Vollrad von Mansfeld, who was plundering through Braunschweig territory at the behest of Margrave Albrecht of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, destroyed Greene Castle. However, Duke Heinrich the Younger immediately had it rebuilt. During the Thirty Years' War, the castle suffered some destruction and fell into the hands of the Imperial forces after the Battle of Lutter. After that, the castle became the seat of the Greene administrative district until the construction of the new administrative building elsewhere. Deprived of its function, in 1694, the December decree of the Braunschweig Dukes Rudolf August and Anton Ulrich ordered the abandonment of the castle "because the old castle can no longer stand, much less can the administrative household be conducted from such old buildings." From 1704, the castle was only inhabited by day laborers. It gradually fell into disrepair, and its stones were used for buildings in the village. Already in 1757, it was reported that essentially only the tower remained.