Kalbe Castle

Kalbe Castle, formerly written Calbe, is the ruin of a moated castle between two arms of the Milde river in the urban area of the town of Kalbe in the Altmarkkreis Salzwedel district in Saxony-Anhalt.

The moated castle was built in the 10th century as a Saxon border fortress, presumably on the site of a Slavic ring fort. The castle was well protected from attackers by three moats and four outer baileys and entrenchments. Nevertheless, the castle complex was repeatedly destroyed by armed conflicts or fires. It gave its name to the Marchian noble family von Kalben, which is mentioned in connection with the castle in a document from 1207. In 1324, the castle was expanded by the von Alvensleben family to become the largest castle in the Altmark, it was last renovated in 1479 and demolished in 1631 during the Thirty Years' War.

The former castle complex, on a swamp island of the Kalbescher Werder, had a castle area with a diameter of 360 meters and was still clearly recognizable in the terrain in 1584. In 1903, the castle ruin was restored by the von Alvensleben family so that it would not further decay. The castle owners were dispossessed in 1945. Today, ruins of the chapel, the gate, and the residential building are still preserved.