Etelsen Castle

The builders of the castle are considered to be the brothers Carl Johann Christian (1820–1895) and Gottlieb Ernst August von Heimbruch (1822–1892), owners of the manors Varste and Polle. Both served in the military under King George V of Hanover. Both brothers died childless, and thus the ancient lineage of the von Heimbruch family died out in 1895. The heir to their fortune was the son of their sister Johanna Magdalene Elisabeth (1824–1911), who was married to Count Eduard Wilhelm zu Reventlow (1810–1868). For this nephew, Count Christian zu Reventlow, they built Etelsen Castle behind the Etelsen manor house.

The native Hanoverian Karl Hantelmann was commissioned as the architect. He designed the castle as a typical Neo-Renaissance building in brick masonry with ashlar detailing. It also contains some Baroque elements. Etelsen Castle was laid out as a rectangle measuring 22 m × 35 m, with two full stories, a raised basement, and a mansard floor. The orientation of the building towards the park and the landscape is reminiscent of 17th-century French castle architecture.

The garden artist Friedrich Kreiß from Braunschweig redesigned the over 10-hectare grounds around 1899.

Count Christian zu Reventlow moved into the castle on October 10, 1896, and lived there with his family until his death in 1922. The heir to the entire estate was his eldest son, Count Rudolph zu Reventlow (1879–1945), a royal master of the hunt, who, mostly traveling, sold all the lands in the following years, so that only the empty castle with its approximately 11-hectare castle park remained. The castle and park were sold to the SA-Gruppe Nordsee in 1937 and served as an SA group school until the end of the war.

After the Second World War, the castle first served as a British military hospital. From 1948 to 1953, it was used as a hospital; after that, it stood empty for six years. At the instigation of a Bremen merchant, a zoo with a castle restaurant was established on the castle grounds in 1959. The mausoleum served as accommodation for the lions. After a few years of good attendance, enthusiasm for the zoo noticeably waned, so this unusual form of use for a castle could not be continued. For a short time, the castle then housed a casino. However, the castle and park facilities increasingly deteriorated.

In 1979, citizens founded the support association "Förderkreis Schloss Etelsen" with the aim of keeping the castle in good condition and the park accessible to the public. After these goals for the building were achieved, the "Schlossparkverein Etelsen" was founded in 1981 with the aim of taking over, restoring, and maintaining the park grounds.

Since approximately 1983, now owned by the district of Verden and extensively restored, the castle has served the Bildungswerk der Niedersächsischen Wirtschaft (BNW). In addition, exhibitions and concerts take place in the castle. Since 2004, civil marriages have also been performed in the castle.

Etelsen Castle Park is freely accessible to everyone and is popular with walkers. From there, one has a magnificent view of the Wesermarsch.