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Neuhausen Castle...

Neuhausen Castle in Guryevsk (Guryevsk District)

The first reliable mention of Neuhausen near Königsburg in Sambia dates back to 1292, when Bishop Christian von Mühlhausen ordered to raise a fortified castle in this location.

Following the reformation of the Catholic Church in Prussia in 1525 the castle became a property of Albrecht Hohenzollern of Brandenburg. The Duke had the castle completely redesigned, converting it into a suburban hunters manor. In 1550, when the Duke had made a decision to marry, he gave the manor as a wedding gift to his fiancée, Anna Maria of Brunswick.

On 20th March 1568, Albrecht Hohenzollern died at the castle in Tapiau. In the morning of the following day, 16 hours after the death of her husband, dies Anna Maria, aged thirty-six. Two deaths in such a short time - this must have risen anxiety, particularly that 16 hours is the time needed to travel overnight from Tapiau to Neuhausen. It seems reasonable to assume that Anna's death was not purely coincidental, especially that the fifteen-year-old heir to Albrecht was of poor health. Under such circumstances, Anna, herself a dominant and confident woman, may have aspired to act as Queen Regent of Prussia.
All answers to such doubts and questions, not documented in historical chronicles, can now be explained and answered by writers, who may try to solve the mysterious death of Duchess Anna and create an interesting historic novel. There is another mystery waiting to be solved - and that is the presence of underground passages, which lead from the castle cellars to the church and on to the old mill.

As regards the later fate of Neuhausen Castle, in 1814 it was donated by King of Prussia, Frederic Wilhelm III (1770-1840) to general Frederic Wilhelm von Bülow (1755 - 1816) in recognition of this heroic deeds during the wars with the French Emperor, Napoleon I. After the general's death the castle was inherited by count Luckner and then it became a property of general Bon.

In 1945, the rooms of the manor were occupied by a construction company. Today, the ruined castle is truly a depressing sight. No preservation work has been done in the castle for at least a hundred years. Guryevsk has a local museum in, for which a renovated Neuhausen Castle would be a perfect location.