Wasserburg Mechelgrün: A Medieval Lowland Castle in Germany
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 3.8
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Germany
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- Holy Roman Empire
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page11 sections
History
Wasserburg Mechelgrün, also known as Wasserschloss Mechelgrün, is a medieval lowland castle in Germany, built in the twelfth century and first recorded in 1267. It developed from a fortified residence into a palace-like complex during the fourteenth century.
The Rabe and Tettau Families
Until the middle of the fifteenth century, Mechelgrün belonged to the Rabe family, a widely established Vogtland collateral branch of the Trautenberg family. Johannes Rabe von Mechelgrün, a medieval nobleman of the Rabe family, acquired Wildstein Castle in 1298 from his father-in-law Engelhard Notthaft. Wildstein was the ancestral seat of the Notthaft family in Egerland, a historical region centered on Eger and now largely within the Czech Republic.
The estate passed to the von Tettau family in 1448. The complex was destroyed in 1465 and rebuilt with four corner towers. In 1475, a chapel was established in the eastern tower and placed under the administration of the parish of Theuma. The chapel remained in use until it was closed in 1874.
Division and Later Alterations
In 1525, the estate was divided into upper and lower sections. The von Tettau family sold the lower section to Herr von Seling in 1600, while the upper section briefly passed to the von Seydewitz family before returning to the von Tettau family.
The lower section burned out in 1670 and was rebuilt by its owners, who also changed the appearance of the complex. Further alterations followed in 1728. The upper section was sold to the Adler family in 1736, and the entire castle complex passed to the Uibrig family in 1817.
Twentieth-Century Decline
Parts of the lower section were demolished in 1840 for a new addition, which was itself removed in 1946. These nineteenth-century changes also eliminated two round towers and partly filled the moat. A channel connected to the Rabenbach created the castle pond.
A depiction published by Helmuth Gröger suggests that at least part of the complex, and possibly all of it, was still well maintained around 1940 and apparently inhabited. In 1945, the Uibrig family was expropriated during the land reform in the Soviet occupation zone. The Red Army initially occupied the nineteenth-century residential areas of the lower section, which were demolished in 1946.
Until 1961, apartments and classrooms in the upper section served as temporary facilities for the Mechelgrün school. Later uses included rooms for the Free German Youth, the official youth organization of the German Democratic Republic, as well as a laundry mangle and storage areas. New farmers and later an agricultural production cooperative, a collectively organized farming enterprise used in the same state, used the lower section’s farm and storage buildings until the 1970s.
After the castle roof collapsed in 1978, the complex gradually deteriorated. A sale to a private investor in 1992 did not stop the decline because plans to incorporate the ruins into a hotel complex failed. Several later rescue efforts by Mechelgrün residents also came to nothing while ownership remained unclear. The cross-building of the lower section’s farm buildings was demolished in 2009. Partial expansion and alteration of the surviving farm buildings has been underway since 2020, while part of the upper section’s castle tower collapsed again in March 2021.
Remains
Wasserburg Mechelgrün survives as a group of ruins and altered farm buildings. The original castle occupied a triangular ground plan and formed a three-storey enclosed complex with a hipped roof, perimeter walls, and a surrounding moat. A hipped roof slopes down on every side rather than ending in vertical gables, while an enclosing wall forms the outer boundary of a fortified complex.
Original Castle and Defensive Features
Triangular Castle Core
The original three-storey castle was arranged on a triangular plan. Its enclosing walls defined the fortified perimeter, and the surrounding moat reinforced the lowland setting. The surviving walls now stand as ruins, preserving parts of the structure’s original enclosure.
Early Towers and Castle Pond
A round tower, probably used as a residential tower, formed part of the southwestern side of the original complex. A tower-like projection stood on the southeastern side. Both features date from the twelfth or thirteenth century. The rebuilding after 1465 added four corner towers, including the eastern tower that later housed the chapel established in 1475.
Nineteenth-century alterations removed two round towers and partly filled the moat. A channel leading to the Rabenbach formed the castle pond, changing the relationship between the surviving buildings and the water surrounding the site.
Upper and Lower Sections
Upper Section
The upper section contained residential areas and a castle tower. Its tower suffered another partial collapse in March 2021. The section also retained apartments and classrooms during its period of use by the Mechelgrün school, followed by rooms used by the Free German Youth, a laundry mangle, and storage spaces.
Lower Section and Farm Buildings
The lower section combined residential areas with farm and storage buildings. A new addition attached to it in 1840 was demolished in 1946. The cross-building of the farm buildings was removed in 2009, while partial expansion and alteration of the remaining farm buildings has continued since 2020. These surviving structures preserve the agricultural side of the divided estate alongside the ruined castle walls.
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