Schaumburg Castle

The first documented mention of Schaumburg occurred in 1197 as the center of a dominion that also included surrounding localities. In the 12th century, the castle was owned by the Counts of Leiningen. After their extinction around 1220, the castle fiefs were divided and changed hands among various noble families, including Nassau, Virneburg, Diez, Weilnau, and Isenburg. A part passed to Gerlach I of Limburg in 1232 but had to be ceded to Electoral Cologne in 1266. The Archbishop of Cologne transferred this share to the House of Westerburg in 1276, which began expanding Schaumburg from 1279. To weaken Schaumburg's power, Baldwin of Luxembourg had the nearby Balduinstein Castle built, leading to disputes. By the 15th century, the House of Westerburg had acquired all shares of the castle. From 1557, the collateral line Leiningen-Westerburg-Schaumburg resided at the castle. In 1656, Georg Wilhelm of Leiningen sold the complex to Agnes von Effern, the widow of Count Peter Melander von Holzappel, thereby uniting the dominion of Schaumburg with the County of Holzappel.