Sommerfeldsches Castle

The origins of the Sommerfeldsches Schloss lie in the Großvargula Castle, which was built by the Schenken von Vargula, ministerials of the Thuringian Landgraves. As early as 1178, Rudolf von Vargula is known as the cupbearer to the Landgrave. The castle itself was first mentioned in a document in 1281. The original castle grounds were flanked by four round corner towers, and as late as 1856, the castle still had a drawbridge. A residential tower, a Kemenate from the 15th century, built by the city of Erfurt, characterized the ensemble. This tower was 19 meters long, 9 meters wide, and featured 4-meter-thick walls at a height of 12 meters. It had a parapet with a hip roof and narrow light slits. Access was through a pointed-arch portal on the ground floor, while the upper floors were accessible via an internal wall staircase.