Weinbergsburg

The Weinbergsburg stands on a low hill beside the old town of Hitzacker on the Elbe. The hill rises about forty metres above the river and is part of the Drawehn ridge. Its plateau is roughly ninety-five metres long and forty-five metres wide. The name comes from centuries of vine-growing on its slopes, first recorded in 1521. Beneath the vines lie the remains of several forts from different ages. The site is recognised as the most important Slavic find in Lower Saxony. Archaeologists found a gold-plated knife sheath, spurs, a gold bead and glass rings, along with thousands of pottery shards and animal bones. Excavations reached five metres deep and uncovered five building phases from the ninth to the twelfth centuries. The Slavs built a wooden earthwork eight metres thick, later capped by a medieval stone wall and towers. Visitors walk over the grassy plateau where the walls once stood. A few stone bases and robber-trench outlines remain visible. Merian’s 1654 engraving shows two tower stumps still rising from the hilltop. On clear days the view stretches across the Elbe valley to the surrounding countryside.