Harliburg

The Harliburg is a former imperial castle in the Harly Forest, in southeast Lower Saxony, Germany.LocationThe location of the former hillside castle is about 1 km (as the crow flies) north-northeast of the town of Vienenburg (141 m above NN), in the county of Goslar and around 10 km (as the crow flies) northeast of the town of Goslar. The River Oker flows below the castle site to the south and east, around the southeastern end of the Harly Forest.A few hundred metres southwest of the Harliburg, in the Oker valley, lies Lake Vienenburg (Vienenburger See). Almost exactly 2 km west-northwest is the hill of Harlyberg (255.9 m above NN), the highest point of the Harly Forest. A section of the A 395 motorway runs past the Harly Forest, a few hundred metres east of the old Harliburg, where it is crossed by the B 241 federal road.HistoryThe Harliburg was built in 1203 by King Otto IV as an imperial stronghold. Like the Liebenburg, that stood around 10 km to the northwest, it was intended to threaten the access roads to Goslar, which were held by the Hohenstaufen lord, Philip of Swabia. In 1218, Otto himself stayed at the castle shortly before his death.