Ichtershausen Castle

In 1147, a Cistercian convent was founded in the town, whose striking convent church St. Georg and Marien (construction began in 1133) still shapes the townscape today. The convent was dissolved in 1539 and a chamber estate was established. The convent church now served Protestant worship. In 1539, construction of the Old Castle began.

In 1676, Duke Bernhard I of Saxe-Meiningen declared Ichtershausen his residence, but he moved it to Meiningen only four years later. During this time, a modest new castle Marienburg and a wall with two gates around the town were built, which are no longer preserved today. In 1697, Ichtershausen received market rights. In 1710, Marienburg Castle was extensively rebuilt and expanded.

In 1870/71, 525 French prisoners of war were housed in the castle. In 1877, a state prison was established in the former castle through appropriate alterations. During the National Socialist era, the state prison, which was designed for 500 inmates, was overcrowded with 634 prisoners (1934), mainly political prisoners. On April 10, 1945, the town was reached by American troops, the prison was damaged by artillery fire and occupied by the Americans with the use of weapons. The inmates freed themselves and devastated the institution. After the war, it continued to serve as a prison, also for political prisoners. At the beginning of July 1945, the town was incorporated into the Soviet Occupation Zone (SBZ).

In 1953, the prison became a youth workhouse, and by 1973 at the latest, a youth correctional facility. In 1991, the institution was closed and from 1993 to 1997, it was extensively renovated and redesigned with an investment of 8 million DM. Since then, it has been a correctional facility for 200 young people (youth correctional facility).