Niederroßla Castle

The origins of Niederroßla Castle date back to the 12th century, when the former settlement of Nieder- and Oberroßla was divided. The moated castle was probably built during this period, with a noble free lord Dietmar von Roßla, first mentioned in 1119, considered the likely builder. In 1371, after the extinction of the original family, the complex passed into the possession of the Vitzthum family. They lost the castle in 1447 during the Saxon Fratricidal War. Subsequently, Duke Wilhelm III of Saxony took over the castle and established an accounting and judicial office there. After his childless death in 1482, the property fell to his nephews Ernst and Albrecht. Through the Leipzig Partition in 1485, the castle came into the possession of the Ernestines and remained so even after the Capitulation of Wittenberg in 1547. In the course of the Erfurt Partition in 1572, it became part of the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar and in 1603 of the Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg. After the extinction of the Saxe-Altenburg line in 1672, the castle returned to Saxe-Weimar.