Stamping point 7 / Plessenburg inn

History and significance of Plessenburg Castle in the Harz Mountains

Accord­ing to the old sys­tem, Plessen­burg Cas­tle, which is shown on the map of the coun­ty of Wernigerode in 1768, is locat­ed on the Königskoll for­est site. (This name refers to a char­coal site where fir wood was charred into char­coal). Con­struc­tion of the Plessen­burg hunt­ing lodge began on Octo­ber 27, 1775 and was com­plet­ed in time for the hunt­ing sea­son in Octo­ber 1776. 

Pleß is a town in Upper Sile­sia which came into the pos­ses­sion of the Princes of Anhalt-Köthen short­ly before this date. Prince Friedrich Erd­mann zu Anhalt-Köthen-Pleß mar­ried the Coun­t’s daugh­ter Louise Fer­di­nande on June 13, 1766. The name Plessen­burg refers to this son-in-law. 

In 1880, the kitchen and staff house was built next to the hunt­ing lodge in the local half-tim­bered style. Plessen­burg Cas­tle remained in the pos­ses­sion of Prince Chris­t­ian Ernst zu Stol­berg — Wernigerode until 1945. In 1945, the prince sold two thirds of his North Harz for­est to the Ilsen­burg forestry admin­is­tra­tion. From 1967 to 1973, the hunt­ing lodge was used as a recre­ation­al facility. 

On June 25, 1973, Bern­hard and Ruth Krebs opened a restau­rant in the for­mer kitchen and staff house. In 1980, the hunt­ing lodge and the for­mer staff house were joined togeth­er to cre­ate today’s “Plessen­burg” for­est inn, which is locat­ed in the heart of the Harz Nation­al Park and is now run by the sec­ond and third generation. 

From Ilsen­burg, fol­low the sign­post­ed hik­ing trails through the Ilse Val­ley, but there is also a beau­ti­ful hik­ing trail from Dar­lingerode or Drübeck through the Tänn Val­ley to Plessen­burg Castle.