Hodeburg

The Hodeburg was a medieval castle near Westdorf in Sachsen-Anhalt, now reduced to buried foundations. It stood on a hill above the Einetal valley, with steep slopes on three sides and a wide ditch on the fourth. A smaller outer rampart survives on the south side, marking the limits of the old forecourt. The castle’s importance is shown by its size—about 160 by 240 metres—and its strong defences. Archaeologists have found traces of a stone cellar from the Iron Age and rich horse burials that suggest elaborate burial rites. In 1216 the castle briefly held Archbishop Albrecht of Magdeburg prisoner before his rescue by local nobles. Visitors walk over grassy mounds where the great hall, bergfried and living towers once stood. Below, excavations have uncovered cellared houses from the 13th-century village that served the fortress. The site is quiet now, but the remains still speak of a place where history was made.