Heiligenstedten Castle

The lands around Heiligenstedten belonged to the Krummendiek family in the late Middle Ages. In the 16th century, ownership transferred to the Rantzaus and shortly thereafter to the Ahlefeldt family. Balthasar von Ahlefeldt commissioned Franz von Roncha to build an initial Renaissance-style manor house in 1583. In 1691, the estate passed into the possession of the Blome family, who held it until 1926. A new building from 1717 was severely damaged by a storm surge in 1756. From 1769, Otto Blome I initiated another new construction in the late Baroque style, which forms the core of today's castle.