Ramholz Castle (german: Schloss Ramholz) is a German

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

located in the hamlet of Ramholz in the Vollmerz district of the town of

Schlüchtern Schlüchtern is a town in the Main-Kinzig district, in Hessen, Germany. It is located on the river Kinzig, approximately 30 km southwest of Fulda. Schlüchtern has a population close to 16,000. Location Schlüchtern is located in the '' Ber ...

, around 40 kilometres southwest of

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. History ...

. The castle and park are cultural monuments according to the .

History

Ramholz was first mentioned in 1167 as the manor ( curia) of the

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

ial line of Hermann von Steckelberg. Upon the fall of the Lords of Steckelberg at the beginning of the 14th century, their properties were divided among six heirs, including the

Ulrich von Hutten Ulrich von Hutten (21 April 1488 – 29 August 1523) was a German knight, scholar, poet and satirist, who later became a follower of Martin Luther and a Protestant reformer. By 1519, he was an outspoken critic of the Roman Catholic Church. Hutte ...

. In 1501, a new building, called the "Old Castle", was built there as the residence of the von Hutten family, who had owned the complex since 1482. The Hutten castle is preserved as part of Ramholz Castle and has architectural features such as

stepped gables A stepped gable, crow-stepped gable, or corbie step is a stairstep type of design at the top of the triangular gable-end of a building. The top of the parapet wall projects above the roofline and the top of the brick or stone wall is stacked in a ...

and a stair tower. By 1642, Philipp Daniel von Hutten (d. 1687) owned all the Hutten estates but was forced by an financial difficulties caused by war to mortgage his properties in Ramholz and Vollmerz to his brother-in-law, Casimir Carl von Landas. When von Landas died without issue, his father, the Electoral Palatinate Church Council President Carl von Landas, inherited the property which passed to his brother, Johann Friedrich von Landas, Electoral Palatinate and Privy Councilor. After his death in 1677, the property passed to his daughter Amalie ( von Landas), wife of

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

Maximilian von Degenfeld. In 1698, the Counts of Alfred von Degenfeld, Degenfeld inherited the property. They held it until 1852 when Counts August Christoph von Degenfeld, August Christoph, Gustav Christoph von Degenfeld, Gustav Christoph and Adolf von Degenfeld sold the castle and to Ernst Casimir I, 1st Prince of Ysenburg and Büdingen, Prince Ernst Casimir of Ysenburg and Büdingen of the House of Isenburg-Büdingen, Ysenburg-Büdingen.

Stumm ownership

In 1883 Hugo Rudolf von Stumm-Ramholz, Hugo Rudolf Stumm (later ennobled as Baron von Stumm-Ramholz in 1888) acquired the estate and purchased the ruins of Steckelberg Castle tp protect them from further decay. Stumm had become very wealthy as a silent partner in the Stumm Brothers company and, in competition with his brothers, Carl Ferdinand von Stumm-Halberg and Ferdinand Eduard von Stumm, who also had magnificent castles built (Halberg Castle and Rauischholzhausen Castle, respectively), greatly improved upon the ruins and exisitng manor house. Between 1893 and 1896, Baron von Stumm had Munich architects, and brothers, Emanuel von Seidl, Emanuel and Gabriel von Seidl add a new building to the existing castle, as well as a farm yard incorporating buildings from the 18th century and houses for the employees and a power house to power the property. The grounds were designed by Swedish garden artist Jöns Persson Lindahl. The castle combined elements of Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic, Renaissance Revival architecture, Renaissance, Baroque Revival architecture, Baroque, Classical architecture, Classicism and Art Nouveau architecture. The former orangery housed a restaurant from 1997 to 2014. The castle, which was privately owned by Kühlmann-Stumm's descendants, was opened to the public for guided tours in 2012 before it was offered for sale for €7 million Euros. In 2014 the 115 room castle was acquired by a Chinese investor.

List of owners

* 1482–1698: Ulrich von Hutten, von Hutten family * 1698–1790: Counts of Alfred von Degenfeld, Degenfeld * 1790–1883: House of Isenburg-Büdingen, Ysenburg-Büdingen * 1883–1910: Hugo Rudolf von Stumm-Ramholz * 1910–1917: Marguerite von Kühlmann, Baroness von Stumm-Ramholz (daughter of Hugo Rudolf von Stumm-Ramholz) * 1917–1977: Knut von Kühlmann-Stumm (son of Marguerite von Stumm-Ramholz) * 1977–1997: Jutta von Stumm-Ramholz (widow of Knut von Kühlmann-Stumm) * 1997–2008: Magnus von Kühlmann (son of Knut von Kühlmann-Stumm) * 2008–2014: Maximilian von Kühlmann (son of Magnus von Kühlmann) * Since 2014: Entrepreneur from Shanghai, China.

References

External links

Schloss Ramholz
at Nomads Travel Guide {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramholz Castle Stumm family Castles in Hesse Buildings and structures in Main-Kinzig-Kreis

History

Stumm ownership

List of owners

See also

References

External links