Scheuerfeld Castle

The origins of the area around Scheuerfeld Castle date back to the Thuringian-Franconian land appropriation of the 5th and 6th centuries, with historians identifying ten earlier hill farms from this period in the Scheuerfeld area. There is no evidence that the site was already a knightly seat around 1100, although Abbot Siboto of Saalfeld founded a chapel at that time. It was not until around 1590 that Nicolaus Zech, the rent master of Duke Johann Casimir of Coburg, acquired Scheuerfeld and built the castle and other buildings. In 1598, he received the nearby Eichhof Castle from Duke Casimir. After Zech's downfall and death in 1607, his children inherited the properties. Helena received Scheuerfeld Castle, which later passed into the possession of her descendants through her marriage and subsequent inheritances. They inhabited the castle until the 19th century, although it temporarily reverted to princely ownership. In 1893, the castle was handed over to the community for the establishment of an evangelical parish office, a function it still holds today.