Rumpenheim Castle

Rumpenheim Castle is a Schloss located in the banks of the Main river in the German city of Offenbach am Main.

The origin of the palace dates back to the manor house of Johann Georg Seifert von Edelsheim, a politician serving the County of Hanau. The main core of the castle, which runs parallel to the Main, roughly corresponds to this manor house. Likewise, Seifert von Edelsheim bought land around the main house, which would end up forming the current palace park.

In 1768, some years after the annexation of the County of Hanau to the Electorate of Hesse in 1736, the Seifert family with Edelsheim sold the manor house to Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel. In the early 1780s, he sold the palace to his brother Frederick. During the first half of the 19th century, various renovation works were carried out, including the construction of new stables and a new reorganization of the park.

After the conquest of Hesse-Kassel by the Kingdom of Prussia in the context of the Austro-Prussian War, the palace became the private property of the branch of the House of Hesse descended from the Prince Frederick of Hesse-Cassel. This branch, known as Hesse-Kassel-Rumpenheim, continued to live in the palace until 1902, when, due to the marriage of Prince Frederick Charles to Princess Margaret of Prussia, after the death of her mother Victoria, dowager of Frederick III, German Emperor moved to the castle of Friderichshof.1 It was considered a common property of the sons of Frederick. Frederick's unmarried male children, Princes Frederick William and George Charles, died in 1876 and 1881, inhabited the castle on a regular basis.

Paradoxically, the second half of the 19th century became a time of splendor for the castle as a destination for the European royalty related to the House of Hesse-Kassel, especially in summer. Among others, the following can be highlighted:

Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge (daughter of Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel) and her family, including the then Princess Mary of Teck, future Queen Consort of the United Kingdom.

Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel, queen consort of Denmark, her husband, Christian IX, and their children, including the future George I of Greece and Alexandra, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom.

In 1943, the main part of the structure was bombed, as a consequence of the Second World War.

Text adapted from “Rumpenheim Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Rumpenheim Castle ranks #3,351 of 8,133 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #261 of the 505 mapped in Germany. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,448 times in the last 60 days, more than 58% of the atlas. 8 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Frankfurt, 9 km away. See how Germany compares in the castle statistics.

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