Blankenhain Castle

The origins of Blankenhain Castle date back to the High Middle Ages, when a castle was built here to protect important trade routes. The Lords of Blankenhain, probably a collateral line of the Lords of Mellingen and vassals of the Archbishop of Mainz, shaped the early period. A Gottfried von Blankenhain is already mentioned as a witness in 1147. The first documented mention of the town of Blankenhain occurred in 1252, while the city of Blankenhain first appeared in documents in 1424. Around 1500, the original castle underwent a reconstruction. After a fire in 1667, the property acquired its current appearance. In the late Middle Ages, Blankenhain was the seat of a line of the Gleichen family, and from 1631, the residence of a line of the Counts of Hatzfeld. After their extinction, it fell to Saxony-Weimar and remained there until 1920.