Schönburg Castle (Hofgeismar)

Schlösschen Schönburg (formerly called Montcherie) is an early Neoclassical castle in the small town of Hofgeismar in the district of Kassel, Hesse (Germany).

Schlösschen Schönburg is located in Gesundbrunnen Park, which stretches along the northeastern edge of the core town of Hofgeismar in northern Hesse. It is situated on an artificially raised hill. Approximately 50 m south of the castle lies a pond. A short distance to the east, roughly along the eastern boundary of the park, runs the Lempe, which flows into the Esse, coming from the south, a few hundred meters further west.

The castle was built from 1787 to 1790 according to plans by Simon Louis du Ry for Landgrave Wilhelm IX, later Elector Wilhelm I of Hesse-Kassel, in the then Bad Gesundbrunnen near Hofgeismar. The state spa Gesundbrunnen was dissolved after the Prussian annexation of Hesse-Kassel in 1866, and the complex is now part of Gesundbrunnen Park.

The small castle is a highlight of early Neoclassical architecture. The original French name "Montcherie" was replaced in 1795 by the current name, which commemorates the castle ruin Schöneberg, located approximately 1.8 km (as the crow flies) to the north.

The castle was originally the residence of Landgrave, and since 1803 Elector Wilhelm, during his summer stays. In 1822/23, the current staircase was added by the Kassel court architect Johann Conrad Bromeis, and the interior furnishings, some of which are still preserved today, were executed. The original furnishings of the electoral bathroom are still preserved today.

Today, the building is used by the Evangelical Academy Hofgeismar as a conference center.