The Franzhagen Castle - also known as ''Franzgarten'' or ''Franzhof'' was a castle near the present-day

Schulendorf Schulendorf is a municipality in the district of Lauenburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after ...

in southern Schleswig-Holstein. Before its destruction in 1716 it was owned by the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg. The castle was based on an older structure that may have originated in the Middle Ages. Under Mary of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel a

grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...

was added in 1608 her husband Duke Francis II of Saxe-Lauenburg expanded it into a large castle with extensive gardens. The duke ran out of funds during the construction, so that, according to a local legend, the workers were left behind unpaid.Geschichte Büchens/ Schulendorfs (pdf)
/ref> Francis II lived in the castle until his death in 1619. After his death, it was inherited by his son-in-law

Philip of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

. After Philip's death, the castle passed his nephew, John Christian, whose son Christian Adolph founded the short-lived family branch named after the castle, the

Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Franzhagen The Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Franzhagen line was a short-lived name of the main line of the ducal house of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg, after its bankruptcy in 1667. The name is derived from the Franzhagen Castle in Schulendorf in the duch ...

line. Early in the 18th Century, the castle had to be demolished, because it was too dilapidated. Nothing remains of the building itself; the only reminder of its existence is a street named ("court moat"), at the edge of the former castle district. Some of the furnishings of the chapel (which was also demolished), found their way into the St. Mary's Church in neighbouring Büchen.

Sources

External links

List of the branches of the ducal family

History of the church in Büchen

Footnotes

Franzhagen Buildings and structures in Herzogtum Lauenburg {{SchleswigHolstein-struct-stub