Langeleben

Langeleben is a historical location at 260 m above sea level, in the northern part of the Elm ridge in Lower Saxony, Germany and today belongs to the nearby town of Königslutter am Elm. Langeleben was a crossing point for three ancient roads through the Elm district. In the past a respectable stately home, a moated castle, built in the Middle Ages stood here. Also a Hunting Lodge and Hamlet which were also called Langeleben. This once important estate and village with an average of 80 residents was responsible for the clearing and management of a large area of the then dense forest. A lightly wooded area for a cemetery contain many old graves under the trees. From the original castle only some remnants of the foundations can today be seen. No trace can be found from the village or former hunting lodge which once belonged to the Duke of Brunswick in the 18th century.

The first discovered mention of Langeleben was in documents from 1160 as Langelage which recorded it as a forestry clearing. The ending of the old name ...lage "-la(g)h" denotes its connection to the forest. The first mention of a stockade like fortification there was recorded in 1258, and Langeleghe as a Hamlet or villa was first recorded in 1328. In 1400 it is recorded that they even had their own Vicar. The adoption of the ending "-leben" was slowly taken and means nothing more than "living" such as living together. At this time Langeleben was one of the bigger villages on the Elm, which in part is due to the excellent supply of clean water from the spring called "Schierpker Bach". During the 13th to 15th centuries, records note the existence of an Imperial Knighthood of Langeleben. Duke of Brunswick as fudal Fiefdom owner of the land rights, allowed the assignment of a castle and rights to the Graf of Asseburg.

In 1555 Henry of Asseburg (Heinrich von der Asseburg) took over the castle and village from Henry of Veltheim (Heinrich von Veltheim) on Destedt. The castle and most of the houses were empty and ruinous, reportedly without roofs and in some parts timbers. Outhouses and barns had fallen apart and were generally unusable. The new owner had the castle and an infrastructure of key houses (such as smithy, bakery, peat-cutter, brewery, etc.) were built up around it and appropriate tradesmen were attracted. In 1609, with the lessening of military significance over such locations, it gradually became recognised as a way-station along the trade route and wagons were repaired and travellers given hospitality for a small sum. In 1605 there was already a significant number of cattle and horses and records show that there were 14 horses, 54 cattle, 83 pigs and about 200 sheep. Several small lakes were excavated and fish breeding taken up. By 1575 the owners of small farms in the surrounding area could boast of more than fourteen hides per 30 morgen of arable land, which today has reverted to common woodland.

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