Wewelsburg
| Wewelsburg | |
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Wewelsburg, seen from the Alme valley
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 Location of Wewelsburg in Germany
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| General information | |
| Type | Castle |
| Architectural style | Renaissance |
| Town or city | Wewelsburg |
| Country | Germany |
| Coordinates | 51°36′22″N 8°39′07″E / 51.606°N 8.652°E |
| Current tenants | Kreismuseum Wewelsburg, Youth hostel |
| Construction started | 1603 |
| Completed | 1609 |
| Renovated | 1650–1660, 19th century, 1930s/1940s, 1948/1949, 1973–1975 |
| Client | Dietrich von Fürstenberg |
| Owner | District of Paderborn |
Wewelsburg (German pronunciation: [ˈveːvəlsˌbʊɐ̯k]) is a Renaissance castle located in the village of Wewelsburg, which is a district of the town of Büren, Westphalia, in the Landkreis of Paderborn in the northeast of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The castle has a triangular layout - three round towers connected by massive walls. After 1934, it was used by the SS under Heinrich Himmler and was to be expanded into a complex acting as the central SS cult-site.
After 1941, plans were developed to enlarge it to be the so-called "Center of the World". In 1950, the castle was reopened as a museum and youth hostel. (The youth hostel is one of the largest in Germany.) The castle today hosts the Historical Museum of the Prince Bishopric of Paderborn and the Wewelsburg 1933-1945 Memorial Museum.
Predecessor buildings existed: Wifilisburg was used during the 9th and 10th centuries against the Hungarians.
Another one was built by Earl Friedrich (Arnsberg). After his death, the building was demolished in 1123/24 by peasants whom he had oppressed. In 1301, the Earl von Waldeck sold the Wewelsburg to the Prince-Bishop of Paderborn.
A document about this acquisition proves that two fortress-like buildings stood on the hill: the Bürensches Haus and the Waldecksches Haus.
From 1301 to 1589, the Prince-Bishops of Paderborn assigned the estate to miscellaneous liege lords.
The masonry of both predecessor buildings was integrated in the current triangular Renaissance castle. In its current form, the Wewelsburg was built from 1603 to 1609 as secondary residence for the Prince-Bishops of Paderborn, at that time Dietrich von Fürstenberg. Its location is near what was then believed to be the site of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest of 9 BC.
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