Stargard Castle

Stargard Castle is the northernmost extant hill castle in Germany. The 13th century castle, standing on a 90 m hill, and the eponymous small town in the valley below lie several kilometers southeast of Neubrandenburg, in the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The complex consists of an outer and an inner bailey with eleven buildings preserved. The imposing castle keep serves as the city's landmark.

The castle hill was settled already before 3000 BC. When Slavic tribes advanced into the area during the Migration Period, they encountered remnants of an ancient fortification or settlement and thus called the place Stari Gard (Pomeranian: old castle). Since the 12th century, the area was conquered and colonized by Christian German princes. In 1237, Duke Wartislaw III of Pomerania, ceded the so-called "country of Stargard" (German: Stargarder Land, Latin: terra stargardiensis) to the Ascanian Margraves of Brandenburg, John I and Otto III, by the treaty of Kremmen. Under their orders, most of the present castle was being built between 1240 and 1270, to protect their northernmost territories. The hamlet of Stargard received its town privileges from Margrave Otto III in 1259. In 1292, by marriage of Margrave Albert's daughter Beatrix with Prince Henry II of Mecklenburg, the Lordship of Stargard was ceded to Mecklenburg as a dower and has remained part of that region ever since. After one of the many partitions of Mecklenburg, Stargard Castle became the residence of Duke John I of Mecklenburg-Stargard in 1352. After the Stargard line became extinct in 1471, their duchy was reunited with the rest of country again. The reign of Albert VII saw the significant modification and expansion of the castle in 1520, e.g. the gatehouse was remodeled into a chapel. During the Thirty Years' War, Stargard served as headquarters of General Tilly during the siege and capture of the nearby city of Neubrandenburg, but was heavily damaged itself during this time. In 1646, the keep was struck by lightning and burnt out. Even after becoming part of the newly created duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in 1701, the castle remained the seat of the local magistrate, as it had been for centuries. The last witch-hunt in Mecklenburg, if not the last in Northern Germany, took place here in 1726. A significant part of the complex, the Crooked House, which housed the magistrate's offices, burnt down in 1919. After surviving World War II without destruction, the castle's premises were used for educational purposes until 1963, then as a youth hostel till 1990. After the reunification, the whole complex was thoroughly restored. A museum was established, maintained by a Christian welfare work organisation. Today, it is also used for cultural events and for weddings in the restored castle chapel.

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