Wasserburg Hopen

Burg Hopen stands in the middle of the Hopener Wald on the edge of Lohne in Lower Saxony. The water castle was built in 1517 by Herbord von Dinklage beside the Hopener Mühlenbach. It has been owned by families including von Haren, von Galen and Korff, and served as a youth hostel from 1954 to 1964. The moat was restored to its original state by Graf Kerssenbrock after earlier partial infill. The main house, first recorded in 1479 or 1566, was raised by a timber-framed second storey around 1700 and lengthened again about 1780. The castle’s history is marked by sieges and fires, notably the burning of the outer bailey in 1637 during the Thirty Years War. The medieval tower collapsed in 1825, the drawbridge was removed in 1880, and an early 20th-century extension was demolished later. Above the entrance a sandstone hood bears the coats of arms of the von Haren and Löw von und zu Steinfurth families. A painting by Luzie Uptmoor from the 1970s shows the castle as it appeared at that time. Visitors today find a moated island reached by a modern bridge, with the restored main building and its timber-framed upper floor. The surrounding Hopener Wald is crossed by avenues planted from 1703 onwards by Herbord von Haren. Inside, the entrance hall still shows the sandstone hood with its heraldic shields. The castle park includes former fishponds and farmyards once used for agriculture and forestry.