Schloß Winsen (Luhe)

Winsen, Germany, Germany

---

Schloss Winsen (Luhe) in Winsen, Germany, is a historic moated castle first documented in 1315 near a Luhe River crossing, likely originating around 1200 as a defensive fortress to protect the town's port after Bardowick's 1189 destruction.

Expanded in the Renaissance era around 1550 into a four-winged structure and reshaped around 1700 by demolishing the west wing for sandstone pavilions, it features brick construction with timber framing, open galleries later closed with half-timbered walls, a 1596 bell tower donated by Duchess Dorothea—who resided there from 1593-1617 and oversaw witch trials—and late Gothic vaulted cellars.

Serving as a ducal widow's seat, administrative center for Lüneburg, Hanover, and Prussia, it now houses the local district court with a tower exhibition and guided tours of its chapel and defenses.