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In the middle of a park by the stream Bille, surrounded by what were once high embankments and wide moats, lies the castle Bergedorf. It is the only well preserved castle from the Middle ages in the region of the city state of Hamburg.
The history of the castle goes back from it‘s beginnings up to the 13th century. Constructed as a castle built in water by the danish vasalle count Albrecht von Orlamünde around 1220, it fell to the power of the dukes of Saxony soon after that.

In 1420 the Hanse city Lübeck and Hamburg conquered the castle to secure their trade routes from the east to the south. After that, the castle was the seat of the lasting „dual city administration“ of the office Bergedorf for more than 450 years.

In 1868 the „Administration Bergedorf“ was taken over by Hamburg as it’s own property. The castle was now the seat of the Bergedorf authorities: office of mayor, police and county.
Parts of the castle were replaced by new buildings for increased demands, and are adapted to the old style as can be seen by their historical brick design.

The inner rooms today belong to the Museum Bergedorf and the Vierlande, which was furnished in 1953. In the exhibition at the Museum, objects from the area of the city and the urban culture of the Bergedorfer region are displayed.

The following departments are available to the visitor today: pre and early history of the region, Bergedorf in the middle ages, old handcraft in Bergedorf, the Soltau room from the 18th century, costumes and furniture from the Vierlanden and the elegant gentlemans country room.

Since three years the museum Bergedorf and the Vierlande disposes of the interior decoration of an Art nouveau cafe, erected around the turn of the century, the so called Cafe Möller, which is part of the exhibition. For the visitor at the museum, the cafe is open on Wednesdays from 1pm until 5 pm. In addition, the society of the museum can make the 60 seats in the café available to bigger groups for receptions, smaller parties and gatherings.