Steinheim Castle

Steinheim Castle (also Burg Steinheim) is a former Mainz Electoral castle and palace complex in Hanau-Steinheim, Main-Kinzig-Kreis in Hesse. Today, it houses the Steinheim Castle Museum.

The complex is located in the old town of Steinheim, southeast of the Main river, on an elongated mountain spur (approx. 115 m above sea level), which rises about 15 m above the river valley and the surrounding area. To the east and south, the historic town center of Groß-Steinheim (also Obersteinheim) adjoins it. The transition between the spacious outer bailey and the old town is partly fluid, although large parts of the curtain wall are still preserved.

According to legend, Ida, the sister or daughter of Charlemagne (possibly Ida of Herzfeld), is said to have lived in the castle. However, no documentary or archaeological evidence for such an age of the castle has yet been found.

First mentioned in 1222 as castrum Steinheim, the castle was owned by the Lords of Eppstein. They called themselves "von Hainhausen" until the end of the 12th century and were wealthy in the region.

Around 1300, the castle was captured and partially destroyed by Landvogt Ulrich I of Hanau during a feud between King Albrecht I and the Archbishop of Mainz, Gerhard II of Eppstein. The castle must have been repaired very soon after. In 1320, the settlement of Steinheim received town rights, and in 1358, the Eppsteiners gained the right to levy tolls on the Main.

Probably financial difficulties forced the Eppsteiners to pledge half of the castle to the Counts of Katzenelnbogen and the Lords of Hanau. In 1393, it became a complete pledge to the Lords of Cronberg. Finally, in 1425, Gottfried VII of Eppstein sold Steinheim for 38,000 Rhenish guilders to the Archbishopric of Mainz, where it remained until 1803. The Archbishops of Mainz partly used the castle as a residence, probably more frequently when traveling to their possessions in the Main region. They had previously acquired territories in the Bachgau and Maingau. The castle in Steinheim was expanded, later developed into a palace-like structure, and became the center of the Amt Steinheim.

Located not far from Hanau Castle and town, the castle secured the archiepiscopal possessions against the Lords and Counts of Hanau, who also owned territories south of the Main. During the Thirty Years' War, Steinheim Castle, town, and Amt were confiscated by King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden and given to the younger Hanau Counts Heinrich Ludwig (1609–1632) and Jakob Johann (1612–1636) for their support of the Swedish cause. However, this only lasted until the Battle of Nördlingen. During the siege of Hanau Fortress in 1635/36, the imperial general Guillaume de Lamboy took up quarters in Steinheim Castle.

Towards the end of the 18th century, the Archbishops of Mainz had large parts of the complex demolished, including the half-timbered upper floor of the main building and the former curtain wall in the present castle courtyard. Plans for a new building could no longer be realized due to the secularization by the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss in 1803. The complex fell to Hesse-Darmstadt, which, although giving the side facing the Main a palace-like appearance with classical-style alterations, only used the castle to a limited extent until 1813. This was followed by frequently changing uses; since 1938, a museum has been located in the rooms. In 1978, the buildings were handed over by the State of Hesse to the City of Hanau. After a phase of renovation and re-conception, the current museum was opened in 1986.