CastleGräfenthal

Wespenstein Castle

Hotel

In Gräfenthal, Thuringia, Wespenstein Castle rises to approximately 462 meters above sea level and once served to secure a medieval trade and military route. Its location on the border with Bavaria made it a point in the Thuringian Slate Mountains.

History+

Around 1250, the castle was presumably built by the Counts of Orlamünde as a customs house and was first documented in 1337 as Hus Greventhal. Originally enfeoffed to the Lords of Gräfendorf, the Orlamünde family later used it as their own residence. After an inheritance division, Otto XI. of Weimar-Orlamünde-Gräfenthal came into possession of the castle in 1414, but sold it in 1426 to Duke Friedrich I of Saxony. In 1438, the Imperial Hereditary Marshals of Pappenheim acquired the complex. Sebastian von Pappenheim extensively expanded the residence between 1517 and 1541 and received Martin Luther, Elector Johann, and Emperor Charles V here.

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Source: Wikipedia · Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image: http://www.wehrbauten.de/thread.php?threadid=638

This description draws on the facts documented in the linked Wikipedia article; Wikipedia content is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wording and editing: Mobile History.

Location: 50.5265, 11.3026