Elgersburg Castle

Elgersburg was first mentioned in 1088. It was built on the walls of a castle belonging to the Counts of Kevernburg and the Lords of Witzleben, which served to protect the Salzmannstraße. It was built as a defensive and defiant castle on a porphyry rock located above the village by Gerhard Edler von Grumbach, also known as Edler Gerhard or Elger, to whom the naming of the place also refers. In 1156, a Markward von Elgersburg was mentioned. In 1288, it was sold to the County of Henneberg for 400 marks of silver. Subsequently, it belonged to: Henneberg from 1288 to 1297, Witzleben from 1297 to 1316, Henneberg from 1316 to 1347, Gleichen from 1347 to 1365, and the Landgraviate of Thuringia from 1365 to 1437. From 1437 to 1802, it was again in the possession of the noble family Witzleben, before it came into the possession of the House of Saxe-Gotha (sold for 126,000 thalers together with the villages of Elgersburg, Neuroda, Geraberg, Manebach (western part) and Traßdorf). In 1802, the castle was acquired by the Ducal-Gotha government for 378,000 marks. In 1905, Elgersburg was expanded into a palace by Duke Carl-Eduard. In 1945, the owners were dispossessed and expelled by the communists.

The castle, reopened in 1998, has since been owned by the municipality of Elgersburg. The never-conquered castle remains in good condition to this day, thanks to numerous renovations, and houses a restaurant, the Heimatbund Thüringen, an IT company, project workshops, and the Geratal Tourism Agency. Weddings, castle tours, changing galleries, and events in the Knights' Hall and on the stage make the castle a cultural center of the administrative community.