Schelenburg moated castle is considered the oldest surviving Renaissance building in northern Germany.
The castle rests on more than 1,000 oak piles, which were driven into the water-rich subsoil. After a fire in 1490, the intact Gothic defense tower with its more than 2.50-meter-thick masonry was connected to the new part of the castle in the Weser Renaissance style. It is not possible to visit the castle.
The name of the castle is derived from the von Schele family. In 1396, Rabodo von Schele married the heiress Elisabeth von Sledesen, whose family ruled the castle for a good 300 years and gave the Schledehausen district its name. The descendants of the von Schele family still live and reside at Schelenburg Castle today.
After the residential and farm buildings burnt down to their foundations at the end of the 15th century and only the defense tower resisted the flames, Heidenreich von Schele had the residential building rebuilt in the early Weser Renaissance style by the well-known master builder Jörg Unkair around 1530. The old foundation walls were used, which, like the tower, are anchored in the boggy ground with mighty oak piles. The defensive tower, with its partially still existing embrasures, as well as the moats, some of which are still visible (formerly four concentric moats surrounded the old castle), are evidence of the original defensive character of this complex.
Today, the castle is mostly used privately, with events sometimes being held there by the DinnerAct Theater.
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