Grafenschloss zu Hoya

Hoya, Germany, Germany

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Grafenschloss zu Hoya, also commonly known as Schloss Hoya, is the former residence of the counts of Hoya in the town of Hoya on the Weser River in Lower Saxony, Germany.

It was first built around 1213 as a moated castle on or near a Weser island, serving as the political and administrative center of the small Lower County of Hoya between the bishoprics of Bremen and Minden. 

The fortified complex was repeatedly besieged, damaged, and rebuilt over the centuries, and today it appears as a three‑winged ensemble whose main visible parts largely date from the 18th and 19th centuries, even though the eastern and western wings still rest on medieval foundations.

Although the native count family died out in 1582, the site remained in use as an administrative and court seat before being converted into a modern cultural and visitor‑services building.