Seligenstadt Castle (Ruin)

The Seligenstadt Imperial Palace was a medieval imperial palace in Seligenstadt, Offenbach district in Hesse.

Seligenstadt has a long settlement history. After the abandonment of the Roman fort of Seligenstadt, an Alamannic settlement is still traceable through archaeological finds, although it cannot be said whether there was settlement continuity into the Middle Ages. The place is first mentioned in 815 as Obermühlheim (Mulinheim-superior) in a deed of gift from Louis the Pious to Einhard. He had a basilica built here as a replacement for the monastery in Steinbach.

The founding date of the Imperial Palace in Seligenstadt is uncertain. A document from Emperor Frederick Barbarossa from 1188 is known, which he issued on the occasion of a court day in Seligenstadt. However, this is not proof of a royal palace. The court day could also have taken place in the nearby abbey. The palace complex is only confirmed in the middle of the 13th century under Emperor Frederick II. It was located on the old Main road, possibly on the site of older buildings or a manorial estate. In the same century, the palace is mentioned as a castrum, and from the 14th century, there are mentions of the building as keysirhaus or rotes Schloß (red castle).

In 1460, the palace was destroyed by fire, and the ruins of the palas were incorporated into the Main front of the city wall as early as 1462. Further destruction followed in the Thirty Years' War. The area originally occupied by the palace was subsequently partially built over. Therefore, little can be said today about the original building stock of the complex. An independent fortification of the palace apparently did not exist.