Heddernheim Castle

In 1740, Philipp Wilhelm von Riedt had the New Castle built in the center of Heddernheim as a residence for his family; in the 18th century, the street was called Holzgasse, later Langgasse until the village was incorporated into Frankfurt, and since then Alt Heddernheim. The churchyard, used before the Thirty Years' War and located directly in front of the New Castle, was incorporated into a park; as a green space and children's playground, the former cemetery grounds have remained undeveloped to this day. The castle park stretched from the banks of the Nidda to today's Oranienstraße (then: Taunusstraße) and extended south to today's Diezerstraße (then: Schulgasse), north to approximately the current intersection of Gerningstraße and Oranienstraße. In the house church Zum Heiligen Kreuz, established in the castle, the Catholic priest from Weißkirchen initially celebrated Holy Mass for the noble family, their numerous Catholic servants, and the few local Catholics. Soon after, Herr von Riedt appointed his own clergyman at his own expense (100 guilders per year with free board and lodging), who from 1746 also headed the newly founded Catholic parish of Heddernheim. "My foremost intention in building the castle was to restore the Catholic divine service, which was disrupted by Swedish war troubles in 1631," noted Herr von Riedt.

In 1764, the area, which was still a Mainz fief, passed to the Lords of Breidbach-Bürresheim, high officials at the court of Nassau, through renewed female succession. As a result, Heddernheim Castle frequently became the scene of festive events, at which the Duke was also present and used to arrive in a four-in-hand. In 1803, the Mainz sovereign rights passed to the Principality of Nassau (from 1806: Duchy of Nassau) with the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss; numerous street names commemorate this. In the same year, Heddernheim became a market town and the seat of a Princely Administrative Office; however, the elevation in rank did not entail any additional rights for the locality.

The main wing of the New Castle still exists (Alt Heddernheim 30), but the entire castle grounds were sold in 1908 by Baron Hubert Anton von Breidbach to the city of Frankfurt, after the owner family had acquired Fronberg Castle in the Upper Palatinate about 30 years earlier and had moved there; the former lords of Heddernheim can be seen there in oil paintings in the castle rooms. The Heddernheim castle building was significantly damaged by bombs in the Second World War; the attic was subsequently not rebuilt in the old style.