Castell Castle

Today's Castell Castle is a noble residence in Castell, Lower Franconia. The buildings of the complex were built in the 17th century on the site of a former freehold. The castle is located in the middle of the village on "Schlossplatz" street and is inhabited by the family of the Counts of Castell.

In Castell, two different castles existed since the Middle Ages. On the one hand, the Upper Castle, which was the ancestral seat of the Castell family, and on the other hand, the so-called Lower Castle. However, the family lost this complex in 1328 to the Burgraves of Nuremberg, the later Margraves of Brandenburg. The castle was destroyed in the Peasants' War of 1525 and fell into ruin. With the re-exchange of the Margraves' territories by Wolf-Dietrich von Castell-Remlingen, the ruin came back into Castellian possession in 1684.

Wolf Dietrich zu Castell, after acquiring the place, needed a castle, as the other two were destroyed. However, its location was shifted further west into the village to better realize the Baroque idea of representation. A former freehold was chosen as the new castle grounds, and construction began in 1687. Peter Sommer from Künzelsau was engaged as the master builder. Under the supervision of Hans Weireitter, the new, lower castle was completed in 1691.

The Baroque three-wing complex of the castle was the first of its kind in Franconia. A pleasure garden was also laid out around the castle, which was transformed into an English landscape garden in the 1820s. Further changes to the garden took place around 1870, when Carl von Effner expanded the park around the riding hall, the stable, and the so-called Grafensee. Previously, in the years 1863–1869, the castle complex was extended in the Neo-Baroque style.

In the following centuries, the castle was not fundamentally changed. Only necessary renovations were carried out. Today, the lower castle is inhabited by the family of the Counts of Castell.