A geographically favorable sand island in a bend of the Drawehn Jeetzel was used as part of a defensive structure centuries before any castle was ever built. In the 1980s, archeological excavations uncovered a Slavic circular rampart that had four different construction phases (including two fires – the first around 1040 and the second around 1070. Later, a medieval castle was built on the site although its true appearance is no longer known. It sits on a small hill – later called the Amtsberg – that was created by heaping up earth. The castle was home 12th century the Counts of Lüchow and in 1320 the county came into the possession of the Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
The construction of the castle complex around 1470 is attributed to Countess Anna von Nassau-Dillenburg, however, large parts of the complex may already have existed before. The castle complex is described as a “princely castle” on a 1654 engraving. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Lüchow office had its seat in the castle but, even at that time, the castle was partially dilapidated. In the 18th century, the south wing and the towers of the west wing were demolished. The fire of 1811 completed the demolition.