Bartensleben Castle

Bartensleben Castle is a Baroque castle in Erxleben (district Groß Bartensleben) in the Börde district (Saxony-Anhalt). It was built in the mid-18th century on the foundations of an earlier moated castle.

Originally, the Bartensleben family resided in Bartensleben in the moated castle as the predecessor building of the later castle. The family moved to the present-day Wolfsburg area in the 13th century, where they ruled from the fortress-like moated castle of Wolfsburg, built around 1300, until their extinction in 1742.

Since about 1400, the noble family von Veltheim, originating from Veltheim (Ohe) in the Wolfenbüttel area, ruled Bartensleben moated castle. Ludolf I von Veltheim was enfeoffed with the castle site in Bartensleben by the Archbishop of Magdeburg. In 1467, one of his successors, Hilmar I von Veltheim, was enfeoffed with the village of Bartensleben.

The Baroque castle was built in the mid-18th century on the foundations of the former moated castle, which once had three outer bailey. In 1757, Heinrich Adrian von Veltheim had the castle extended with the central and western wings, with the interiors receiving a Rococo style furnishing.

After the Second World War in 1945, the noble family von Veltheim fled to the western occupation zone due to the forced expropriation of the castle. The castle was used by the Soviet occupation forces and later the NVA, then served as the women's sanatorium "Clara Zetkin" and until 1991 as a retirement home. A significant part of the original substance, such as the staircase with gallery, was removed or destroyed during renovations in GDR times. After the closure of the retirement home and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, it fell into disrepair, but is now in private ownership and not publicly accessible.