Ruine der pommerschen Fürstenburg „Haus Demmin“

Demmin, Germany, Germany

---

Ruine der pommerschen Fürstenburg „Haus Demmin“ in Demmin, Germany, is the oldest surviving secular building in Pomerania, a water castle on an island at the Tollense-Peene confluence first noted in 1128 as a Slavic stronghold and meeting point for Bishop Otto of Bamberg and Duke Wartislaw I.

Dating its core round donjon to around 1200, it served as residence for Pomeranian dukes until 1264, enduring sieges by Henry the Lion before expansions into a full fortress with towers, halls, and outbuildings by 1620. Destroyed by fire in the Thirty Years' War and Swedish demolition in 1648, a 1840s manor replaced parts of it until a 1997 blaze left mainly the tower stump amid secured ruins now owned by the city.