Wewelsburg
Image by mtiger88
Wewelsburg is a Renaissance castle located in the northeast of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the village of Wewelsburg (the same name as the castle) which is a quarter of the city Büren, Westphalia, in district of Paderborn in the Alme Valley. The castle has the outline of a triangle. After 1934 it was used by the SS under Heinrich Himmler and was to be expanded to the central. After 1941 plans were developed to enlarge it to the so-called "Center of the World".
When the "final victory" failed to materialize, Himmler ordered Heinz Macher, with 15 of his men, to destroy the Wewelsburg (31 March 1945), only two days before the U.S. Third Infantry Division seized the grounds. Because Macher’s company ran out of explosives, they placed tank mines only in the unimportant southeast tower, the guard-building and the SS-cadre-building which was completely destroyed. The castle was set on fire and – according to information of the village citizens – the castle was given free for looting.
In 1948/49 the castle was restored. On June 29, 1950 the castle was reopened as a museum and youth hostel, while the Niederhagen kitchen had been renovated into a village fire station.
For more Information see here: English Language or German Language.