Sparrenberg Castle

Bielefeld, Germany, Germany

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Sparrenberg Castle, also known as Sparrenburg, is Bielefeld's iconic landmark, a restored 13th-century fortress perched on Sparrenberg hill at 180 meters altitude in the Teutoburg Forest, towering 60 meters above the city center.

Built before 1250 by the Counts of Ravensberg to guard the Bielefeld Pass and protect the emerging town, it evolved into Westphalia's largest fortress by 1578 through 16th-century reconstructions featuring bastions, high walls, and artillery positions under Italian builders.

Damaged in World War II but restored by the 1980s with a rebuilt 37-meter tower offering panoramic views, it now hosts guided tours of dungeons and walls, the annual July Sparrenburg Festival with medieval spectacles, and lies along the Hermannsweg hiking trail.