Dautenstein Castle

General information

The estate of the former moated castle is privately owned. We kindly ask you to respect the privacy of the owner.

We nevertheless wish to provide you with a quick summary of the castle as fire, war and changes of ownership have all played a dramatic role in its history. 

Stonemasons’ marks reveal that the castle dates back to the 12th century. In the German Peasants’ War, the original castle was badly damaged and was rebuilt as a ‘new and magnificent residence’ in 1590 by Baron Jacob, the last of the House of Geroldseck. Soon after his death in 1634, Austria snatched the heiress of the state of Hohengeroldseck and handed her to the House of Kronberg as a fiefdom. Schloss Dautenstein was in doing so destroyed by troops from the Austrian territories in southern Germany. After being rebuilt by the House of Kronberg and extended by the succeeding House of Leyen, the castle once again fell victim to fire.

At the beginning of the 19th century, a small, one-storey castle with a turret was built upon the east wing’s undamaged cellar by privy councillor von Schmidt zu Dautenstein. The wonderful wallpaper in the entrance hall with its Swiss design dates from this period. This scenic wallpaper which was produced in Rixheim in Alsace illustrates countryside life. Other examples are only to be found in the wallpaper museum in Fulda and in Schloss Schwetzingen.