Schloss Jever

Schloss Jever stands in the town of Jever in Lower Saxony. It began as a medieval fortress built by East Frisian chieftains and became the seat of the Jever Herrschaft. The present building grew from a 14th-century stronghold into a four-winged Renaissance palace surrounded by moats and ramparts. Edo Wiemken the Younger transformed the crumbling fortress into a proper residence in the late 15th century. The castle’s history is marked by sieges, treaties and remarkable owners. In 1495 Counts of Oldenburg laid siege to the newly strengthened walls. Maria von Jever, regent from 1560 to 1575, commissioned Renaissance ceilings and extra defences. Her baroque tower crown was added between 1731 and 1736, making the 67-metre spire the town’s landmark. After passing to Russian hands and then Oldenburg dukes, the site became a museum in 1921. Visitors enter through two gatehouses and walk past a historicist façade recalling Italian Renaissance palaces. Inside, the castle museum tells the story of the building and its rulers. The former inner moat is now a landscaped garden, and the mighty bergfried with its baroque dome dominates the small courtyard. Changing exhibitions fill the rooms, while the tower offers views across the town and surrounding countryside.