Plesse Castle

Plesse Castle

Plesse Castle is situated to the north of Göttingen in Germany, close to the village of Bovenden.

The castle was transferred in 1015 from the private estate of Meinwerk, bishop of Paderborn to the city of Paderborn. Since 1150 it is the seat of the noble lords of Plesse, who named themselves for the castle. Holy Roman emperor Henry VI traded Plesse Castle in 1192 for Desenberg Castle close to Warburg in Westphalia, but the trade was already reverted in 1195. In 1447 the lords of Plesse transferred their possession of Plesse Castle to the Landgrave Ludwig of Hesse and in return received it as a fiefdom. The explanation for it lies in the fragmentation of the dukedom of Brunswick-Göttingen. The leading noble families could not avoid being drawn into the ensuing conflicts. They therefore sought protection from a powerful liege lord. They found this protection and backup with another ruler, who was Ludwig of Hesse.

In 1536 the protestant reformation was introduced to the dominion of Plesse, which also comprised of the surrounding villages. The house of Plesse became extinct with the death of Dietrich IV of Plesse in 1571. Landgrave William IV of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) then took possession of the dominion of Plesse, as this was his right as liege lord. Moritz of Hesse-Kassel converted the people of the Plesse dominion to the reformed creed in 1614. Between 1623 and 1624 he and his family took refuge in the castle various times. After a siege in 1627 during the Thirty Years' War the castle and the dominion of Plesse were ceded temporarily to the landgrave George II of Hesse-Darmstadt. In 1660 the castle was abandoned finally and afterwards served as a quarry for the residents of the surrounding villages.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe visited the castle in 1801. Subsequently to French occupation in 1807 the dominion became the Canton Bovenden in the Kingdom of Westphalia. After the collapse of Westphalia in 1813 the now Electorate of Hesse-Kassel retook control of the dominion of Plesse. In a barter between Prussia, the Kingdom of Hanover and the Electorate of Hesse-Kassel the dominion of Plesse became part of Hanover on May 1st, 1817. Starting in 1821 first attempts to restore parts of the castle were undertaken, and between 1853 and 1864, on initiative of the ruling family of Hanover, it came to a complete restoration of the castle. The earlier affiliation of Plesse to Hesse can still be seen even today. The villages of the former dominion of Plesse still belong not to the Lutheran state church of Hanover, but belong to the reformed church.

External links

* http://www.hoeckmann.de/deutschland/regionen/plesse.htm
* [http://www.bovenden.de/staticsite/staticsite.php?menuid=31&topmenu=12&keepmenu=inactive The Plesse archive of the Bovenden village (German)]
* [http://www.bovenden.de/staticsite/staticsite.php?menuid=29&topmenu=12&keepmenu=inactive Informations on the village of Bovenden]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Liste des châteaux des Pays-de-la-Loire — Vue aérienne du Château des ducs de bretagne, Nantes Légende …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Nantes — See Wiktionary for the name of Nantes in various languages other than English, French, and Breton. For the place in Brazil, see Nantes, São Paulo. Nantes Motto: Latin: Favet Neptunus eunti ( May Neptune favour the travellers ) …   Wikipedia

  • Châteaubriant — The Chère at Châteaubriant …   Wikipedia

  • Clisson — Église Notre Dame …   Wikipedia

  • Gandersheim Abbey — ( Stift Gandersheim ) is a former house of secular canonesses ( Frauenstift ) in the present Bad Gandersheim in Lower Saxony, Germany. It was founded in 852 by Liudolf, Duke of Saxony, founder of the dynasty of the Liudolfings. He obtained… …   Wikipedia

  • Livonian Brothers of the Sword — (Fratres militiæ Christi Livoniae) …   Wikipedia

  • Georg V. (Hannover) — Georg V. von Hannover Georg V., König von Hannover und 2. Herzog von Cumberland und Teviotdale (* 27. Mai 1819 in Berlin; † 12. Juni 1878 in Paris) war der letzte König von Hannover. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”