Stamp point 197 / Anhalt castle ruins

The ruins of Anhalt Castle are located high above the Selke Valley on the local mountain (397 m above sea level) between Mägdesprung and Falkenstein Castle.

Anhalt Cast­le was first men­tio­ned around 1140 when it was des­troy­ed during a feud bet­ween the Arch­bi­shop of Mag­de­burg and Mar­gra­ve Kon­rad of Meis­sen. The Asca­ni­an Albrecht I of Bran­den­burg, bet­ter known as „Albrecht the Bear“, had the cast­le rebuilt in the fol­lo­wing years. The new con­s­truc­tion made the cast­le one of the lar­gest for­ti­fi­ca­ti­ons in the enti­re Harz region. 

Today, only the remains of the keep and parts of the cast­le cha­pel can still be seen, but a model of the cast­le can be found on Bal­len­stedt Cast­le Squa­re. As the cast­le gave its name to the sta­te of Sax­o­ny-Anhalt, the cast­le grounds were ope­ned to the public in 2012 to mark the sta­te’s 800th anniversary. 

The shor­test start­ing point for a hike to the cast­le ruins is the par­king lot in front of the Sel­ke­müh­le, which can be rea­ched from Mäg­de­sprung. From the for­mer inn, cross the Sel­ke and walk ste­adi­ly uphill along a sign­pos­ted hol­low path to the cast­le ruins.