Eschwege Castle

The castle's origins trace back to a fortress that was owned by the Hessian Landgraves from 1264. Towards the end of the 14th century, conflicts arose when Landgrave Hermann II attempted to restrict urban rights. The citizens consequently opened their city in 1385 to Landgrave Balthasar of Thuringia, who, to protect against the Hessian Landgraves, began constructing a castle in 1386 at the site of the old Honer Gate. In 1433, the city reverted to Hesse, and the castle became an administrative seat. In the 16th and 17th centuries, under Landgraves Philipp I, Wilhelm IV, and Moritz the Learned, the complex was expanded into a Renaissance castle, incorporating older structural elements.