A number of impressive castles are open to the public in the area of Hannover. Most of them date from the 18. and 19. century, though some of them are built on older structures.

The local nobility had them built to obtain an adequate home as well as to demonstrate their power. The oldest castle near Hannover is Schloß Landestrost in Neustadt and the youngest the Marienburg, which looks medieval but was only built in the last century. Today most of them are museums or serve other purposes and only the Marienburg is still partly inhabited by the owners.