Wilhelmsburg Castle

In 1583, the Landgraves of Hesse gained sole control over Schmalkalden, which had previously been jointly administered with the Counts of Henneberg. Landgrave Wilhelm IV of Hesse then decided to make Schmalkalden one of his secondary residences. He had the medieval Waltaff Castle demolished and began construction of the castle named after him in 1584. The inauguration took place on May 23, 1590, although construction was not yet fully completed. The interior furnishings were brought from Kassel. Under his son Moritz, who frequently stayed in Schmalkalden for extended periods, the castle was finally completed in 1618. In the following centuries, it was used less and less and was completely abandoned at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1873, the Association for Henneberg History and Regional Studies took over the property and established a museum within it.