Freudenberg Castle (Wiesbaden-Dotzheim)

The building was constructed in 1904 by architect Paul Schultze-Naumburg as a villa, commissioned by the painter James Pitcairn-Knowles and his wife Marie Eugénie Victoria Guérinet. The couple only resided there for three years. Around 1920, it was converted into a children's home, later operated by the city of Essen and closed in 1931. Two years later, the NS-Frauenschaft Essen used the castle as a mothers' home, affiliated with Lebensborn e.V. In 1939, the castle was transferred to the Wiesbaden Army Garrison Administration. After World War II, it served as an officers' casino for the US forces. In 1973, the building, in need of renovation, was handed over to the Federal Real Estate Administration.