Palace and Muente in Diepholz

image author: Torsten Krüger - Stadt Diepholz

The moated castle Diepholz built at the turn of the 10th to the 11th-century experienced some rebuilding in the course of its century-long history. We don't know about the history of the building history especially the early centuries as there are no sources. But there is no doubt that the moated castle has four wings on a square floorplan.

The monumental 16,50m high tower round base, made of granite ashlars goes back to the 10. / 11. century (980 - 1030). It has a diameter of 11,60m and below a wall thickness of 3,50m, which decreases going up. On the strong base above a string-course stands a twelve-sided brick floor with roofed edge. This carries a same style but retraced half-timbered top piece, which is crowned by a curved twelve-sided slate roofed hood with delicate bays and a weather vane. In the course of centuries the palace has been altered.

image author: Peter Merk - Stadt Diepholz

Around 1550 nobleman Rudolf (died 1560) completely rebuilt the palace before he moved in with his wife countess Margarete of Hoya (died 1596). A stone moulding above the north door stems from that time. It shows the coat-of-arms of the dynasties of Diepholz and Hoya. When Spanish troops moved through our area during the Dutch struggle of freedom the government in Celle reinforced the fortification, which was responsible for it as the Diepholz dynasties (1585) had died out.



During the Thirty-Year War the palace proved itself several times as fortress. Still the Danish troops were able to burn it down in 1626 and Swedish soldiers under Colonel Kratzenstein conquer its and destroyed it to its foundation in 1637.
Duke Christian Ludwig of Lüneburg-Celle restored the castle around 1660.

image author: Torster Krüger - Stadt Diepholz

The Münte is apart from the castle a building with outstanding historical importance for the city Diepholz.

Unfortunately there are no records, which could tell us when the southern Lohne island was build on for the first time. Did a living tower or a house stood at this place that coin master Lambert Vleminck purchased in the year 1514 or 1515? We only know that Vleminck wanted to spend his remaining years here when his violations against the coin law became intolerant and the bishop of Münster let him go. During his Osnabrück and Münster operations Vleminck also produced coinage in Diepholz for the noblemen of Diepholz from 1515 onwards.
As then prevalent he also operated counterfeit on the explicit order by the noblemen.
But this didn't save him to suffer death in boiling water on the marketplace of Osnabrück finally.