What to See in Leer - Top Sights and Attractions

Tourist attraction in Leer, Germany. 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.^[2]

Samson House is a listed building in the East Frisian town of Leer. The year of construction 1643 mentioned in the cornice refers to the facade, which was added to the house in that year. The core of the building was built in 1570.

Today, the first floor houses a wine shop; on the first and second floors, a private museum exhibits East Frisian home decor. Since the beginning of 2007, the building and museum have been owned by the Hilke and Fritz Wolff Foundation. According to its statutes, the foundation is committed to the preservation and maintenance of monuments, listed buildings and sites worthy of protection, the promotion of science and research, art and culture, and the promotion of local history and heritage in East Frisia.

Historical landmark in Leer, Germany. 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.^[3]