Alt-Schieder

Alt-Schieder is a medieval fortification on the western slope of the Kahlerberg hill in Schieder, part of Schieder-Schwalenberg. It sits between 180 and 200 metres above sea level on a natural terrace. The site once included a main castle covering 4.2 hectares and an older outer bailey of 1.7 hectares. The outer rampart was partly levelled after the main castle was built. Today only low earthworks and grassy mounds remain of the walls. Excavations in 1899 by Carl Schuchhardt and Otto Weerth uncovered stone foundations of houses and a church. Leo Nebelsiek carried out further digs in 1939. The main castle was used from the early 11th century until the 13th century, while the church may have remained in use until the mid-15th century. The outer bailey has never been excavated, but scholars believe it matches the Villa Scitiru recorded in a Corvey monastery inventory of 822. In 997 Emperor Otto III granted the site to Archbishop Giselher of Magdeburg. Visitors walk over gentle grassy banks that mark the outline of the main castle. The church foundations lie near the centre, and the lower outer bailey stretches to the west. The Emmer valley below is now filled by the Schiedersee, but the hilltop still gives wide views across the Lippe countryside. The site is quiet and open, with no modern buildings inside the old ramparts.