Markt Mitwitz - Wasserschloss Mitwitz 02
Mitwitz Moated Castle is located in the market town of Mitwitz—between Coburg and Kronach—in the Steinach Valley, at the confluence of the Föritz and Steinach rivers.
Mitwitz Moated Castle was first mentioned in historical records in 1266. At that time, it was held as a fief of the Bishopric of Bamberg by the Barons of Schaumberg. The lower levels of the north wing and the northern corner tower were already in existence then.
In 1425, the Lords of Rosenau—knights who held extensive estates in the surrounding area—became the owners of the castle. Descendants of the family formed a line of mintmasters from Coburg who became the new owners of the castle and the village of Mitwitz.
During the German Peasants' War, the castle was looted and partially destroyed by fire in 1525. In the years that followed, only makeshift repairs could be carried out before Hieronymus von Würtzburg acquired the property in 1575. At the end of the 16th century, Hans Veit I von Würtzburg—a member of the noble von Würtzburg family—commissioned the castle's reconstruction and expansion into its current external form. He engaged the master builder Daniel Engelhardt for the project; Engelhardt had previously planned the expansion of the Rosenberg Fortress in Kronach. The estate remained in the possession of the Barons von Würtzburg until the death of Ludwig Freiherr von Würtzburg in 1922, at the age of 77. As his daughter Annie von Würtzburg had married Theodor von Cramer-Klett Jr.—son of the industrialist Theodor von Cramer-Klett—in 1903, ownership of the castle passed to the von Cramer-Klett family. Towards the end of the Second World War, the Frankfurt City Library was relocated to the Mitwitz moated castle.
The Renaissance moated castle is a three-story, four-winged structure featuring gable roofs and four corner towers. Its interior houses several points of interest. The central courtyard contains an 18th-century Neptune fountain and a replica of the sandstone statue *Der fränkische Ritter* (The Franconian Knight)—created by Pankraz Wagner between 1572 and 1577—the original of which stands on the town fountain in Weismain. The castle chapel is located in the west wing. The upper floors contain various rooms displaying many original furnishings dating from the 16th to the 20th century. The Mirror Room features a cycle of paintings from 1755 attributed to Georg Anton Urlaub.
Markt Mitwitz - Wasserschloss Mitwitz 02
Mitwitz Moated Castle is located in the market town of Mitwitz—between Coburg and Kronach—in the Steinach Valley, at the confluence of the Föritz and Steinach rivers.
Mitwitz Moated Castle was first mentioned in historical records in 1266. At that time, it was held as a fief of the Bishopric of Bamberg by the Barons of Schaumberg. The lower levels of the north wing and the northern corner tower were already in existence then.
In 1425, the Lords of Rosenau—knights who held extensive estates in the surrounding area—became the owners of the castle. Descendants of the family formed a line of mintmasters from Coburg who became the new owners of the castle and the village of Mitwitz.
During the German Peasants' War, the castle was looted and partially destroyed by fire in 1525. In the years that followed, only makeshift repairs could be carried out before Hieronymus von Würtzburg acquired the property in 1575. At the end of the 16th century, Hans Veit I von Würtzburg—a member of the noble von Würtzburg family—commissioned the castle's reconstruction and expansion into its current external form. He engaged the master builder Daniel Engelhardt for the project; Engelhardt had previously planned the expansion of the Rosenberg Fortress in Kronach. The estate remained in the possession of the Barons von Würtzburg until the death of Ludwig Freiherr von Würtzburg in 1922, at the age of 77. As his daughter Annie von Würtzburg had married Theodor von Cramer-Klett Jr.—son of the industrialist Theodor von Cramer-Klett—in 1903, ownership of the castle passed to the von Cramer-Klett family. Towards the end of the Second World War, the Frankfurt City Library was relocated to the Mitwitz moated castle.
The Renaissance moated castle is a three-story, four-winged structure featuring gable roofs and four corner towers. Its interior houses several points of interest. The central courtyard contains an 18th-century Neptune fountain and a replica of the sandstone statue *Der fränkische Ritter* (The Franconian Knight)—created by Pankraz Wagner between 1572 and 1577—the original of which stands on the town fountain in Weismain. The castle chapel is located in the west wing. The upper floors contain various rooms displaying many original furnishings dating from the 16th to the 20th century. The Mirror Room features a cycle of paintings from 1755 attributed to Georg Anton Urlaub.