Holter Burg

Bissendorf, Germany, Germany

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Holter Burg is the oldest castle site in the municipality of Bissendorf, near Osnabrück in Lower Saxony, Germany, and it is the ruin of a medieval hill castle.

The fortress was first mentioned in 1134 as the seat of the noble lords of Holte, a family closely tied to powerful ecclesiastical and secular offices in the Holy Roman Empire. It functioned as a fortified hill castle with a ring wall, deep ditches, and a compact inner core, but suffered major destruction in the mid‑12th century, likely in conflicts between the Bishop of Osnabrück and the counts of Ravensberg.

Today the site survives as a quiet archaeological ruin with visible ramparts, fragments of walls, and earthworks, and it is open to visitors who can walk among the remains and trace the outlines of the former tower castle and its surrounding defenses.