Theilheim Castle

The Theilheim Castle was built in 1741 by Karl Heinrich Freiherr von Erthal. After the secularization of 1802, the owners of the castle changed several times.

In 1814, Franz Leppich, a colorful character, moved into the castle. The new owner, an exiled Württemberger, was many things: mechanic, alchemist, and commissioned inventor. And he eventually even landed at the court of Tsar Alexander. Recent research attributes to him the pyrotechnic means with which Moscow was set ablaze at all corners and ends on the night of September 15, 1812. Less successful was the construction of a semi-rigid airship, which was intended to be used as a bomber with a crew of 50 men in the fight against Napoleon's troops. Even after 75,000 rubles had been spent, no significant results were available. But the Tsar did not abandon the adventurer, who also liked to appear as "Doctor Schmidt", brought him to Petersburg, where he could continue to work on his invention in Oranienburg until 1814.

Josef Rosenthal and Mendel Rosenbauer, Leppich's successors from 1819, probably wanted to establish a Jewish college in Theilheim Castle, but only did so later, in Zell near Würzburg. Even after Rosenthal and Rosenbauer, the castle housed Jewish owners. Which was nothing special in old Theilheim. After all, 45 percent of the population before the Nazi regime consisted of Jews.

In 1870, a farmer from Brünnstadt, Philipp Herold, bought the castle. When his son and successor Gottfried passed away, the widow Kunigunde Herold married the farmer Adam Sauer from Opferbaum in 1883. Thus began the Sauer era. Renate and Adolf Sauer as well as Helga and Adolf Sauer also put their energy into the noble, expensive family project of the castle, before Susanne and Roland Sauer now bear the responsibility in modern times. "We have three times the maintenance costs compared to a normal house," says Sauer. Given the substantial costs, the gastronomic side income from the "Spanferkelranch" (Suckling Pig Ranch) comes in handy. In an outbuilding, Helga and Adolf Sauer have been serving suckling pig and homemade schnapps for groups since 1992.