Eichhof Castle

The origins of the estate date back to 1440, when Peter von Eychoff was named as the owner of the eponymous farm in Scheuerfeld. After a brief change of ownership to Anton von Rosenau, Eichhof came into the possession of Duke Johann Casimir of Coburg. In 1598, Duke Casimir gifted the castle to his rentmaster Nicolaus Zech as a token of gratitude for his successful restructuring of the court's finances. Zech, who had already acquired the village of Scheuerfeld around 1590 and developed it into a knight's estate, died in custody in 1607 after being convicted of insulting the prince. His property passed to his children Helena and Markus. After Helena's death and the purchase of Markus's share, Johann Christian von Merklin, Helena's husband, became the sole owner of the knight's estate. His sons divided the inheritance, with the younger receiving Eichhof. In 1765, Major Friedrich Bernhard von Merklin sold the property, which returned to ducal ownership in 1864 and was renovated for the relocation of the Prince of Ratibor. From 1906 to 1919, Chief Court Marshal Carl Eduard von Rüxleben lived in the castle, which remained the property of the House of Coburg even after the 1919 settlement agreement. The castle's history is also marked by three murder cases that occurred in 1707, 1865, and 1945.