Burg Stromberg, castle ruin in Stromberg, Oelde, Germany

Burg Stromberg is a ruined hilltop castle on a hill of the Beckumer Berge, the only hill castle in the Münsterland. Its near-triangular perimeter runs about 745 m and encloses roughly 30,000 m², with three courtyards entered through the Paulusturm gate. The 12th-century Kreuzkirche stands on the highest point at 154.59 m above sea level; the Mallinckrodthaus and the Palas on the south wall survive as ruins.

First documented in 1177, the castle served the Bishop of Münster as a defensive stronghold protecting the boundaries of the diocese. A partial demolition in 1780 ended its role as a functioning fortress.

The castle's name comes from the Burgraves of Stromberg, a Rüdenberg lineage that held it from 1177 to 1463. Their coat of arms, three ravens, appears in the Quaternion Eagle on the fourth feather from the left of the lower wing. The Gothic Cross Church, consecrated in 1344, housed the venerated Holy Cross of Stromberg.

The castle grounds are accessed through a tower gateway that leads to the courtyards open for exploration, with footpaths connecting different areas. Clear weather offers the best views of the stonework and surrounding landscape from the hilltop location.

The Stromberg burgrave's coat of arms, showing three ravens, appears in the Quaternionenadler, a heraldic depiction of the Holy Roman Empire's estates, on the left wing, fourth feather from the left, at the very bottom. The castle's almost triangular plan enclosed about 30,000 square metres within a wall roughly 745 metres long.