At the end of the 14th century, the counts of Schaumburg built the Hagenburg (Hagenburg Castle) in order to safeguard their estate. Gradually a settlement developed around the castle which became the village called Hagenburg. Later the medieval castle was replaced by a palace. In recent years a new village centre has developed with a modern school complex, the kindergarten "Indianerdorf" (Indian village), and a medical centre. Today the village has more than 4,500 inhabitants.

Schloßstr. 21

Hagenburg Palace consists of two buildings, a half-timbered wing from around 1686 and a taller one, which was modernised by Princess Juliane around 1800 with a natural stone facade in Neo-Classical style. It was from here that Count Wilhelm supervised the process of building the fortress island Wilhelmstein in Lake Steinhude. Later rulers mainly used the palace as a summer residence. Since 2005 the palace has belonged to an art auction house. You can see it from the outside. 

Schloßstr. 23

Behind the palace you can discover a a moor garden following an educational trail which introduces you to the vegetation of upland and low moors. Only a hundred metres away, you might visit the glacial erratics exhibition "Findlingsgarten" presenting 23 erratic boulders that were transported from Scandinavia to the region by glaciers during the Ice Age.