Harzburg

Harzburg
Große Harzburg
Bad Harzburg, Lower Saxony
Reconstruction of foundation walls of a tower
Harzburg is located in Lower Saxony
Harzburg
Harzburg
Harzburg is located in Germany
Harzburg
Harzburg
Coordinates51°52′17″N 10°34′03″E / 51.87139°N 10.5675°E / 51.87139; 10.5675
TypeHilltop castle
CodeDE-NI
Height482 m above sea level (NN)
Site information
ConditionWall remnants, ditch
Site history
Built1065 to 1068
Garrison information
OccupantsKing, emperor

The Harzburg, also called Große Harzburg ("Great Harz Castle"), is a former imperial castle, situated on the northwestern edge of the Harz mountain range overlooking the spa resort of Bad Harzburg in Goslar District in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It was erected from 1065 to 1068 at the behest of King Henry IV of Germany, slighted during the Saxon Rebellion in 1073-75, and a century later rebuilt under Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and his Welf successor Otto IV, who died here in 1218.

Later used as a robber baron's lair, the hill castle crumbled into ruins over the centuries. Today it has almost completely disappeared; only fragments of the foundation walls and the towers together with the castle well are preserved.