Mellnau Castle (Ruin)

The castle was first documented in 1263 as “Elenhouch,” later often referred to as “Elnhoch,” before the current name “Mellnau” became established around 1500. It was likely built around 1248 under the Mainz Archbishop Siegfried III von Eppstein to protect the Wetter Abbey and replace the destroyed Hollende Castle. In 1263, an agreement between Hesse and the Mainz Archbishop Werner von Eppstein stipulated that the castle remained within the Archbishopric's sphere of influence. During the “Rhenish Customs War” in 1301, the imperial bailiff Ulrich I von Hanau conquered the complex. After multiple pledges, Archbishop Heinrich III von Virneburg redeemed the castle in 1342. A siege by Landgrave Hermann II of Hesse in 1381 was unsuccessful. As a result of the Mainz Diocesan Feud, the archiepiscopal share of Wetter Abbey and thus Mellnau Castle were pledged to the Landgraves of Hesse in 1464. The castle subsequently lost its military significance, was enfeoffed to the Lords Milchling von Schönstadt, and gradually fell into disrepair after the administrative seat was moved to Wetter in 1510. In the 19th century, it became the private property of the Milchling family.