Henneburg Castle

Henneburg Castle, locally known simply as the Henneburg, lies on a hill on the right bank of the Main River in the town of Stadtprozelten, in the Bavaria region in Germany.

A predecessor of Henneburg Castle was probably founded around 1127 by Timo de Bratselde. His successor was Conradus Colbo Schenk von Schüpf, who was the founder of nearby Kollenburg Castle. His descendants donated the castle to the Teutonic Order during the mid-13th century. At that time the castle was known as Prozelten Castle.

By 1275 it was in the hands of the Counts of Wertheim and Hanau and by 1319 the castle and town had become the sole possession of Lady Elisabeth von Wertheim. She then again donated it to the Teutonic Order the next year.

The Order put the castle under control of the Diocese of Mainz in 1333. During the next 150 years the Order rebuilt the castle in a Gothic style, which gave it its present appearance. In 1483 the Teutonic Order and the Mainz Diocese exchanged a lot of their possessions so that the castle now became the full possession of the Diocese. At that time the castle was known as Henneburg after the last Commander of the Order on the castle; Count Georg von Henneberg.

Apparently Henneburg Castle was acquired in a dilapidated state as in 1493 extensive repair works took place. The castle escaped harm during the wars in the following centuries, only being damaged by a thunderstorm. It was manned by just a few soldiers and parts of it were unused. This caused it to fall into a slow decay and by 1704 it was already being described as a ruin.

Works to save the ruin from total destruction were carried out for the first time 1840. In 1927 a part of the palace collapsed due to fireworks and a further collapse, killing 3 people, happened in 1978 as a result of a lightning strike. The ruin was then consolidated in the 1980s.

At present Henneburg Castle can freely be visited. A great castle ruin.

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