Schönberg Castle

Schönberg Castle, also known as Schönberg Palace, is located near Schönberg, a district of Bensheim on the Bergstraße in the Bergstraße district, above the Schönberg Valley in South Hesse.

Schönberg belonged to the County of Erbach and later, after the division of the county, to the Erbach-Schönberg branch.

In the 13th century (first documented mention in 1303), the castle was built as a fortress on a mountain spur above Schönberg to control the Lautertal road. The first buildings must have already been located on the site of the current structures; they had a more defensive character and were protected on the main northern attack side by a shield wall with towers (one still existing). The castle was a Palatinate fief held by the Schenken von Erbach. In the immediate vicinity, foreign territorial lords bordered the Erbach territory, with Kurmainz in Bensheim and the County of Katzenelnbogen in Auerbach.

With the extinction of the Counts of Katzenelnbogen, their heirs, the Landgraves of Hesse, became new neighbors of the Erbachs in 1479.

In 1504, during the Bavarian-Palatinate War of Succession, the castle was severely affected by Landgrave Wilhelm II of Hesse, caught fire, and was heavily damaged. However, after the Erbachs were elevated to the rank of counts in 1532, there was a lively period of new construction in the following decades. In the mid-16th century, it was rebuilt as an open castle.

In 1717, the Erbach comital house was divided, and Schönberg Castle became the seat of the Erbach-Schönberg line named after it. Under Count Georg August von Erbach-Schönberg, extensive construction work began around 1728/29.

Around 1840/50, significant alterations were made to the manor house and the north wing, as well as in the castle courtyard, where the eastern terrace was renovated. The Baroque garden, which had been expanded in the 18th century, was transformed into a landscape park. In 1902, the pavilion on the terrace, whose creator was the Bensheim architect Heinrich Metzendorf, was the last major structural addition.

In 1956, the venerable castle of the Schönberg line, which had been elevated to princely status in 1903, was sold to the Ruhrknappschaft in Bochum and converted into a convalescent home. On October 17, 1957, after renovations, it was handed over for use as a health prevention home in the presence of Federal President Theodor Heuss.

The castle served as a conference and educational center for the Deutsche Rentenversicherung Knappschaft-Bahn-See until December 2011 and is now closed. The castle is currently for sale.