Neuhaus Castle

Neuhaus Castle is a spur castle on a mountain spur, at around 329 meters above sea level, a castle ruin located above the Tauber Valley near the municipality of Igersheim in the Main-Tauber district in Baden-Württemberg, surrounded by the "Neuhaus" nature reserve.

The castle was probably built in the 13th century (first documented in 1281) and was owned by the Lords of Hohenlohe-Brauneck. In 1320, it became a fief of the Diocese of Würzburg and, together with the surrounding villages of Althausen, Apfelbach, Bernsfelden, Harthausen, Igersheim, Markelsheim, and Neuses, formed the Teutonic Order's Neuhaus office.

During the German Peasants' War and the Schmalkaldic War, the castle was destroyed and rebuilt. From 1704 to 1789, an Amtmann (judicial and administrative official) of the Teutonic Order resided at Neuhaus. In 1789, he moved his official residence to Igersheim. From 1792, the castle was gradually demolished.

The dissolution of the Order by Napoleon simultaneously marked the end of the Teutonic Order's Neuhaus office, to which Igersheim belonged until 1809. Afterwards, the castle became state property and was administered by the Royal Württemberg Rentamt. - The castle was also notorious as a prison and torture castle.