Jesberg Castle

Construction of the defensive complex began in the late 12th or early 13th century. In 1241, the brothers Ludwig and Wortwin von Linsingen sold the castle to the Archbishop Siegfried III of Mainz, but received it back as a fief. Jesberg developed into a central Mainz stronghold in Lower Hesse. Around 1350, the castle suffered damage, likely due to disputes between Mainz and the Landgraves of Hesse. After the Lords of Linsingen became vassals of Hesse in 1400, Mainz troops besieged and captured the castle. Between 1425 and 1426, the fortifications, with the exception of the Romanesque keep, were renovated and expanded. In 1427, the castle was involved in the war between Landgrave Ludwig I of Hesse and Archbishop Konrad of Mainz. During the Hessian Fratricidal War in 1469, in which Electoral Mainz supported Heinrich the Rich of Hesse-Marburg, Jesberg Castle, defended by von Linsingen, was stormed and almost completely destroyed after a long siege by Bohemian mercenaries. Reconstruction only took place in 1524. In 1586, the castle finally became Hessian, lost its strategic importance, and fell into disrepair.