Finkenau Castle

Finkenau Castle, established as a manor with a manor house at the end of the 15th century and rebuilt as a castle in 1828, is located in the Finkenau district of the municipality of Ahorn near Coburg. The castle ensemble also includes a sheepfold with a shepherd's dwelling, a sheep wash, and the Finkenmühle mill.

Finkenau Castle is located in the Ahorn municipal district of Finkenau (Creidlitzer Straße 1) in the district of Coburg, administrative region of Upper Franconia. The federal highway 303 Coburg–Schweinfurt runs between Ahorn and Finkenau. The Itz river flows through Finkenau, and the castle grounds are situated on its western bank.

The earliest documented mention of the Finkenmühle mill dates to April 4, 1418, when a Hans Mullner wished to lease the Vinkenmul from Saalfeld Monastery, its then owner. In 1451, the mill passed to the Lords of Rosenau, who developed Finkenau into a manor with a manor house over the following five decades. In 1507, the mill changed ownership, and in 1609, the entire manor passed to the Lords of Streitberg, who by then resided not far away at Ahorn Castle. They were also able to buy back the mill. Three years later, Duke Johann Casimir declared the manor an allod, the free property of the Streitbergs. In 1634, the Finkenau and Ahorn manors were devastated by imperial troops.

From its inception until the 18th century, the Finkenau manor served as an outwork for the Ahorn estate. In the mid-18th century, the court councillors Grüner (Coburg) and Christ (Ansbach) jointly acted as owners. On an old plan from 1791, the manor house was referred to as a Kastrum, meaning a fortified noble residence. The sawmill belonging to the estate caught fire for the second time in 1798 after 1524 and was rebuilt in 1799. In 1828, the owners had the tenant and hunter's dwelling belonging to the estate demolished down to the cellar and erected the current castle on the old vaults.