Burg Oldersum

Oldersum stands on flat land in the Moormerland district of Lower Saxony. It once had two high-medieval castles, but only the site of one is known. The other may have stood near Tuitjebült. The surviving castle was the centre of the small Herrlichkeit Oldersum, which lasted until the 17th century. The castle’s story begins before 1381, when it was already several years old. Ocko I. tom Brok handed his East Frisian lands to Albrecht of Bavaria, including the two Oldersum castles. In 1427 Focko Ukena took control, but the Cirksena-led freedom league besieged his son Uko in 1430. The Hanse destroyed both castles in 1433, yet only Oldersum’s was rebuilt. Wiard Haiken became Häuptling in 1438 and expanded his rule over several villages. Ulrich von Dornum later hosted reformers like Andreas Bodenstein and Menno Simons on the castle. The castle became a divided four-wing complex in the 16th century. Brothers Hektor and Boiocko split it with a wall across the courtyard. After decades of legal disputes, Emden bought the whole estate in 1631. The city kept an administrator there until the buildings fell into ruin. By 1954 only traces remained before a shipyard took the site.