Haseldorf Castle

Haseldorf Castle is a Neoclassical building in the municipality of Haseldorf in Schleswig-Holstein.

The castle was planned and built in 1804 by the Danish master builder Christian Frederik Hansen. The client was Hans Heinrich von Friccus-Schilden. It is a single-story brick building with flat corner risalits and a two-story, rusticated central risalit. The entrance portal is flanked by columns. The grand staircase and the dormer windows are not original. They were added later (end of the 19th century).

Together with its outbuildings, the castle forms a U-shaped complex.

• The Cavalier's House, built at the end of the 18th century, is located west of the main house. It is a two-story brick building with a hip roof and two flat risalits.

• The Marstall (stable) is located on the east side. It was built in 1821 as a two-story brick building. The door with a semicircular transom is flanked by pilasters and has a gable. The Marstall was last used as an apple cellar and storage. Around 2002, it was converted into a residential building.

• The estate park, which surrounds the complex, features a diverse old tree population. An avenue leads from the north towards the main building. In the east of the park, hidden behind tall trees, stands the mausoleum built in 1884. A castle used to be located there; the moat and a rampart are still preserved. At the western end of the park stands the late Romanesque St. Gabriel's Church.

• In the 12th century, the diking of the Haseldorf Marsh began. The Archbishop of Bremen had a castle built in Haseldorf in 1184. It was destroyed during wartime turmoil in 1258 and rebuilt in 1317. It temporarily served as a robber baron's nest with various owners.

• The Bailiwick of Haseldorf passed to King Christian I of Denmark in 1460. In 1494, King John I sold the bailiwick to the knight Hans von Ahlefeldt. In 1627, Wallenstein's troops destroyed the castle during the Thirty Years' War.

• In 1731, the von Schilden family acquired the estate from the Ahlefeldts.

• In 1896, the Haseldorf estate (together with Haselau and Hetlingen) fell to Prince Emil von Schoenaich-Carolath-Schilden (1852-1908). The prince was a lyricist and storyteller. In his time, the manor house became a literary meeting place. Among others, Rainer Maria Rilke was a guest here. The grave of the "poet prince" can be found in the old cemetery at St. Gabriel's Church. Today, Udo Prince von Schoenaich-Carolath-Schilden is the lord of the manor at the Haseldorf estate.