Haneburg is a castle with two wings of Leer in East Frisia, Germany. It is one of the few buildings remaining of the Renaissance time in north-west Germany, which was much affected by the Netherlands. The castle was built by the chieftain of Leer, Hayo Unken, in the middle of the 15th century.

Subsequently, the castle passed via the Frese family into the possession of the Hane family, from whom the building takes its present name. Joest Hane, the steward (Drost) of the Count of East Frisia in Stickhausen, began to repair the castle in 1621 and extended it by the addition of the southern Renaissance wing. His son Dietrich Arnold Hane built the northern wing in 1671.

Until some years ago the Haneburg was an old people's home. After complex renovation work it is today the home of the office of the people's high school for the city and district of Leer. Temporarily it is in use for art exhibitions and conferences. It is the property of the district of Leer, which uses the knights' hall for representative causes. However, historical interiors are no longer present in the castle.

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The Harderwykenburg is one of the oldest extant castles of East Frisia. It was built in the style of a medieval stone house soon after 1450 in Leer, Lower Saxony, Germany.

The original building, in the form of a tower, was built of stones from a monastery, and measures 8.09 x 11.13 meters. The external walls are between 0.96 and 1.23 meters thick. The tower was later supplemented by a two-storey extension. The steeply proportioned building has now been not entirely satisfactorily restored.

The first owner of the castle was probably the chieftain Hayo Unken, on his mother's side a grandchild of the chieftain Focko Ukena. The castle was also known as the "Unkenburg", after Hayo's family name. In 1588 the steward (Drost) Dietrich Harderwyk Armgard married a daughter of Hayo Unken IV, and thus came into possession of the castle, which now bears his family name.

In 1788 possession of the building passed from the then owner, Carl Stephan von Schilling, to Carl Gustav, Baron zu Inn und Knyphausen, whose descendants continue to live there.

Harderwykenburg

The Evenburg is a water castle in the village of Loga in north Germany, not far from the River Leda.

It was built by Colonel Erhard Reichsfreiherr von Ehrentreuter of Hofrieth (1596-1664), commander of the Dutch garrison in Emden, between the years 1642 and 1650. He named the castle after his wife Eva, Baroness Ungnad, of Bohemia, whom he had married in 1631. Colonel von Ehrentreuter had been enfeoffed with Loga and the neighbouring village of Logabirum by Count Ulrich II of East Frisia to pay off his considerable gambling debts.

Marie von Ehrentreuter (1633-1702), the youngest daughter of the colonel, married Gustav Wilhelm Freiherr von Wedel (1641-1717) who came from Königsberg. The later field marshal of the Danish King Christian became the new lord of Evenburg and also the Governor of Oldenburg Land. In 1684, having amassed a considerable fortune, he bought the Jarlsberg near Oslo in Norway as well. From that time onwards, the von Wedels were given the title of Count.

Descendants of the von Wedel family, whose main residence today is Gödens Castle in the parish of Sande, occupied the Evenburg for centuries.

In 1861/62, the building, which was one of the earliest examples of classical architecture in the Dutch style, was badly in need of repair and was largely demolished. Only the foundation walls and the vault of the old transept in the centre were incorporated into the new residence, which was otherwise executed in the Neo-Gothic style; its architect being Richard Stueve from Hanover.

During the Second World War (1939-1945) the castle was badly damaged. The filigreed roof structures could not be restored, the roof was covered very simply.

After extensive renovation work the Evenburg is now home to various institutions including the Education Academy of East Frisia and a college for grammar school teachers. Until a few years ago it also housed the district media centre for Leer district, who had acquired the Evenburg in June 1975 along with its estates for about seven million deutschmarks from the von Wedels. Its attractions include the long double avenue, which leads from the town of Leer to the castle, the baroque bastion (Vorburg) of 1703 (home to the district music school), the hallway, the remains of the old stables and the extensive landscaped park in the style of an English garden with paths to the Ledadeich (dyke).

By 2006 the Evenburg had been returned to its appearance in the mid-19th century. The neo-Gothic roof and many interior details were restored. It was opened in January 2007. The castle may be visited as part of a guided tours. The hall (Saal) and the bastion host concerts and other events.