Is the Altenburg a castle in the usual sense?

No, it is a prehistoric and early historic fortified settlement made of earth and stone ramparts on a plateau, with no standing building preserved.

When was the Altenburg inhabited?

It was settled during the Neolithic, between 4200 and 3500 BC, by people of the Michelsberg culture, and again during the Iron Age, roughly from the third century to the late first century BC.

Where can the excavation finds be seen?

They are kept at the Hessisches Landesmuseum in Kassel and also displayed at the Altenburg and town museum in Niedenstein.

How do you get to the site?

It is reached on foot via forest paths through the Habichtswald nature park, as the wooded summit plateau has no vehicle access.

Altenburg

Niedenstein

Access

No visits on recordNo opening hours or ticketing found

Where: Niedenstein

To make a day of it

Open within 20 km

Sleep nearby

Altenburg stands in Niedenstein (Schwalm-Eder-Kreis), in Hesse, Germany. The building is a listed Baudenkmal. No visits are on record for this building.

The Altenburg, also known as Grüne Platte, is an ancient fortified settlement set on a basalt plateau rising to 450 metres within the Habichtswald nature park, in the Schwalm-Eder district. First occupied during the Neolithic by people of the Michelsberg culture and later reoccupied in the Iron Age, the hill was studied in excavations carried out in the early twentieth century, which uncovered nearly three kilometres of stone ramparts. What remains today are earthworks and wall traces scattered through the forest rather than any standing castle. The site is listed as a Kulturdenkmal in Germany.

What to know

The site sits in woodland on a hilltop plateau and is reached only on foot via paths through the Habichtswald nature park.
What remains are earthworks and wall traces in the ground, with no reconstructed building to tour.
Information panels are set up in a shelter on the hill explaining the site's history and excavations.
Finds from the excavations are kept at the Hessisches Landesmuseum in Kassel and also shown at the Altenburg and town museum in Niedenstein, which includes a model of the former settlement.

Where this château is

Niedenstein · Schwalm-Eder-Kreis · Hessen

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This châteauChâteaux within 40 km

Address

34305 Niedenstein

Directions open from wherever you are, by car or public transport.

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Heritage status: Kulturdenkmal in Deutschland

In pictures

Frequently asked

Is the Altenburg a castle in the usual sense?: No, it is a prehistoric and early historic fortified settlement made of earth and stone ramparts on a plateau, with no standing building preserved.
When was the Altenburg inhabited?: It was settled during the Neolithic, between 4200 and 3500 BC, by people of the Michelsberg culture, and again during the Iron Age, roughly from the third century to the late first century BC.
Where can the excavation finds be seen?: They are kept at the Hessisches Landesmuseum in Kassel and also displayed at the Altenburg and town museum in Niedenstein.
How do you get to the site?: It is reached on foot via forest paths through the Habichtswald nature park, as the wooded summit plateau has no vehicle access.