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Spangenberg Castle

★★★☆☆

spangenberg castle

Attribution: By Ingmar Runge - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11756368

Location
Spangenberg, Schwalm-Eder-Kreis, Germany
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Built
13th century

Spangenberg Castle was first a medieval fortified castle, then a fortress, hunting lodge, prison, forestry school and is now a hotel and restaurant.
The first castle on the site was probably built by the lords of Treffurt, who came from Thuringia, as the centre of their small barony in the region around Spangenberg and Morschen. From here, it could guard the important trading route "through long Hesse" from Frankfurt to Leipzig.
The castle was completely destroyed by an American air raid during the Second World War; this led to its reconstruction by the State of Hesse in the 1950s. Today, the outer shape of the building hints at the importance of the fortress had in earlier times.

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Reviews and impressions

Wendy Shaw (nee Spanney)

My Maiden name, Spanney, was changed from Spangenberg when my Grandfather was working as a draughftsman in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. My Great Aunt Herta who never married, kept her Surname. So it was nice to be able to visit the town of Spangenberg and it's Schloss a few years back on our travels. We had planned on staying at the Castle but , unfortunately, it was under renovation. Maybe sometime in the future, when we are allowed to travel internationally again, we will have a revisit.

Mrs. Randy L. (Romaine) Schreck

My Great-Grandfather is descendant of SPANGENBERG family and castle. My mother has passed away but my Aunt Tina (Spangenberg) Buttonberg has given my family ancestry history which has led to this site.


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Latest Castle Stories

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Separate myth from reality as we explore what medieval dungeons really were — how prisoners were held, punished, and remembered.

Why Heidelberg Castle Was Never Rebuilt — and Left a Ruin

How war, politics, and Romanticism turned a once-great palace into a preserved ruin.

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