Burg Lenzen

About the museum

On the site of today's Burg Lenzen, the Slavic Linonen presumably built a ring-shaped rampart in the 8th century. This stronghold, Lunkini, is first mentioned in writing in 929, when troops of King Henry I captured it in the fight against rebellious Slavs. After the end of Slavic rule in the 12th century, the site passed to the Gans zu Putlitz family, who had a castle built on the rampart; the tower with walls over three metres thick dates from the 13th century.

In the late Middle Ages, castle and town often changed hands, and in the 16th century Lenzen was Brandenburg's most important Elbe toll station. The Thirty Years' War severely damaged the castle. After 1648 the Dutch district governor Arnold Gysel van Lier shaped the area; in 1767 the district was dissolved and the castle sold. In the GDR, after the owner family was expropriated, it served as a home for party veterans.

After 1990 the family regained the castle and in 1993 donated it to BUND Niedersachsen on the condition that it be used for nature and environmental protection. Since 1996 the Trägerverbund Burg Lenzen has operated a centre for floodplain ecology, environmental education and visitor information here in the Elbe-Brandenburg River Landscape Biosphere Reserve.

In the castle tower, an exhibition spread over four floors explains the Elbe floodplain along the Green Belt, while the half-timbered barn presents Lenzen's more than thousand-year town history. In the castle park are the NaturPoesieGarten (nature poetry garden) and the AuenReich floodplain adventure area.

Highlights

• 13th-century castle tower with an exhibition over four floors
• Virtual flight on a wild goose in the tower dome
• Diorama of the 929 Battle of Lenzen with about 8,000 tin figures
• Interactive floodplain adventure area AuenReich with a tree suspension bridge
• NaturPoesieGarten in the castle park
• View over the Elbe floodplain

Permanent exhibitions

• Flusslandschaft am Grünen Band – Exhibition over four floors of the castle tower on the habitats, land use and landscape change of the Elbe floodplain, with a virtual wild goose flight in the dome.
• Stadtgeschichte(n) Lenzen – Lenzen's development from prehistory to the present day, with original objects and a large tin-figure diorama of the Battle of 929.

Operated by

Trägerverbund Burg Lenzen (Elbe) e. V.

Director

Bettina Kühnast

Admission & discounts

Card payment (EC) possible. Offers with the Familienpass Brandenburg.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations

Family ticket and family activities such as canoe tours and bird watching; screen microscope and multi-touch table in the castle tower, water play table and tree suspension bridge in AuenReich. Project days for children aged 6 to 12 and young people aged 13 to 18.

Getting there & parking

By bike from Wittenberge station about 34 km on the Elbe Cycle Route. By car via the A 24; cross the Elbe via the bridges at Wittenberge and Dömitz or the ferries Pevestorf–Lenzen and Schnackenburg–Lütkenwisch.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Visitor information with shop; the Burghotel is located on the castle grounds.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit