Burg Niehuus, Medieval hillfort in Harrislee, Germany

Burg Niehuus is a vanished motte-and-bailey castle site in the lowland near Niehuus, Harrislee, west of Flensburg. The castle mound is still visible, and the 40 by 30 metre ground plan belongs to the bergfried, the stone keep, not to the surrounding rampart, which forms a semicircular ring 120 by 80 metres across. The Krusau stream flows immediately west, north and east of the earthworks.

Count Klaus of Holstein-Rendsburg built the castle around 1345 to control trade routes and protect Flensburg from threats. The site became a crucial toll point on the medieval long-distance trading paths crossing the region.

The location served as a meeting point for communities on both sides of the shifting medieval border region. Visitors can sense how this position made it important for controlling movement and commerce between distant areas.

The site is freely accessible year-round and can be explored on foot from any direction, with the mound visible from all angles. A network of walking trails connects the archaeological area to the surrounding countryside and other historical locations in the region.

A toll receipt from 1365 proves that merchants and pilgrims had to pay fees to continue their journeys through this place. This document reveals how central this location was to the economic life of the medieval period.