Hohenwehrda Castle (Wehrda)

Hohenwehrda Castle is located near Wehrda in the municipality of Haunetal in the district of Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Hesse. The castle is situated on a 314.5 m above sea level hill overlooking the Haune, on the edge of the Fulda-Haune plateau. Beyond the Haune lies the Kuppenrhön.

The castle was built around 1900/1901 by Baron Wilhelm von Kleydorff (1871-1914). His widow Lilli, née Benckiser, sold the castle to the Hermann Lietz School. The school was then founded in 1941 by Alfred Andreesen (successor to Hermann Lietz). It is therefore the youngest of four Hermann Lietz Schools. The founding was rather provisional, as an alternative location was sought for Bieberstein Castle, about 30 km away, which had been confiscated by the Nazis.

The formerly all-girls boarding school now offers space for approximately 114 boys and girls; there are no external students here. Grades 5 and 6 are run as a remedial stage, after which differentiation is made between the Realschule and Gymnasium branches. While the Mittlere Reife (intermediate secondary school certificate) can be obtained at Hohenwehrda Castle, the Gymnasium branch ends after the 9th grade. Bieberstein Castle is practically the continuation of this.

The monthly costs for accommodation are 2750 Euros (as of June 2011). Scholarships or other funding opportunities are not offered directly by the school, but by various affiliated associations. Hohenwehrda Castle, like the Hermann Lietz Schools Haubinda and Bieberstein Castle, is managed by the Stiftung Deutsche Landerziehungsheime (German Rural Boarding Schools Foundation).