Güntersburg

The ruined castle of Güntersburg stands about 2 km southwest of Güntersberge in the Harz Mountains of central Germany.

The ruins are located on the 485 m Hoher Kohlberg hill in the Selke valley. The castle site is very large and has an area of about 3 ha. It was probably a fortified settlement with a medieval castle. To the northwest the site was protected by a rampart and a 150 m long ditch, whose scale can still be easily made out today. To the southeast the site is bounded by the hillside that falls steeply into the Selke valley.

Of the former buildings only a few foundation walls are recognisable. Still easy to make out are the foundation walls of the two gatehouse towers. Little is known of its history. First mentioned around 1326, the site had already been devastated by about 1600. Its former owners were the lords of Knedtlingen and the counts of Stolberg. The castle was probably built in the 11th century.

According to legend, the castle was once occupied by robber barons and one of their victims, the daughter of a merchant, is still supposed to appear as a white apparition today to those venturing near to the castle at night. The bunch of keys she carries with her was once supposed to had brought a curse on a monk.