Bellnhausen Castle

The origins of Bellnhausen Castle date back to the late 13th century, when the Lords of Bellnhausen built a small motte-and-bailey castle on an earth mound surrounded by a moat. In 1351, the castle was enfeoffed to the Counts of Ziegenhain and returned to the Lords of Bellnhausen as a castle fief. A renewed enfeoffment occurred in 1405. Around 1432, Engelbrecht von Bellnhausen sold his share of the castle to Count Johann II of Ziegenhain, which, after his death in 1450, fell to the Landgraviate of Hesse. The Lords of Bellnhausen are last documented in 1556. Their remaining shares in the castle and estate of Bellnhausen passed by inheritance to Reinhard Schenk, who also acquired the former Ziegenhain share in 1564.