The fairytale castle built by the last King of Hanover
The story of this magnificent castle is a tale of true love. Located between Hanover and Hildesheim, at 135 metres above sea level, it is a tranquil, untouched monument to a great romance. Every detail in this superb, authentically preserved summer residence speaks of a tale of two hearts, the true story of the love between Queen Mary and King George V, the last King of Hanover.
The name of the castle, Marienburg, records for all eternity the person this manifesto of love was dedicated to: Queen Mary. As a token of his love and a gift for her 39th birthday, in 1857 King George gave his queen the Marienberg hill along with the plans for a castle which was to be built on it. That same year the building work started on what was to become one of Germany’s most impressive and attractive historical buildings.
However, fate intervened: in 1866, before the castle could be completed, the Prussians forced King George V into exile in Austria; he was followed a year later by his queen, Mary.
Since 2004, Marienburg Castle has been owned by the great-great-great grandson of Queen Mary and King George V, HRH Ernst August Prince of Hanover, who has restored life to the castle of his great-great-great grandmother. In addition to informative tours through the rooms of the castle – which have been restored to their former glory – there is also a carefully selected programme with a variety of festive events and concerts, making Marienburg Castle what Queen Mary had always dreamed of it becoming: a monument to love and a cultural centre of music and art!
The lives and fates of kings, counts and genteel families can be experienced at first hand between the Rivers Leine and Weser in the magical Land of Castles. In addition to Marienburg Castle, within a radius of 50 km around Hamelin – the city of the legendary Pied Piper – there are six other truly sublime castles, all of which immerse visitors in culture and history, and offer a wide programme of exciting events: Bückeburg Castle, Hämelschenburg Castle, Bad Pyrmont Castle, Bevern Castle, Fürstenberg Castle and Corvey Castle bring to life nobility, history, architecture, garden design, ancient legends, sad, romantic and fantastic tales from the past two thousand years, allowing visitors to see them with their own eyes, hear them and experience them with all their senses. All these castles bear testimony in stone to courtly intrigue, to the rise and fall of mighty dynasties, to the lives of princesses, rulers, kings and their lovers at the royal courts – and they tell fascinating stories in which great joy and sorrow are closely intertwined in tales that have eternal appeal. In several castles the authentic furnishings have also survived the ravages of the years and they make history come alive more vibrantly than any book could ever do.
*The castle cannot currently be visited from the inside*
