Lauterburg Castle (Ruin)

The origins of Lauterburg date back to 1150, when a hillside castle was built on this site. It was first documented in 1156 as “Castrum Luterberg” in connection with clarifying the legal status of Mönchröden Monastery. The castle was initially a fief of the Counts of Henneberg to the Sterker family. During the Thirty Years' War, Lauterburg served as a refuge for Lutheran farmers, but was captured, plundered, and burned down by imperial troops in 1635. After the death of the last Schaumburg resident at Lauterburg in 1694, ownership changed hands several times until Duke Ernst Ludwig of Meiningen received the property as his wife's dowry in 1704. He had the remains of the old castle demolished and a representative hunting and pleasure palace built in the Rococo style, which he named “Ludwigsburg.” However, the palace remained unfinished and fell into disrepair after the male line of the Meiningen dukes died out in 1743.