Schloss Mespelbrunn

Mespelbrunn Castle is a late-medieval/early-Renaissance moated castle on the territory of the town of Mespelbrunn, between Frankfurt and Würzburg, built in a tributary valley of the Elsava valley, within the Spessart forest. It is a popular tourist attraction and has become a famous Spessart landmark.

The first precursor of Mespelbrunn Castle was a simple house. The owner was Hamann Echter, vizedom of Aschaffenburg, a title which means that he was the representative of the ruling prince, the Archbishop of Mainz Johann von Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein at the castle and town of Aschaffenburg. On 1 May 1412, Johann gave the site, a forest clearing next to a pond, to Echter, a knight, who constructed a house without fortifications. It was a reward for Echter's services against the Czechs. The Echter family originates from the Odenwald region. Their name presumably means "der die Acht vollstreckt", the executor of the ostracism.

In the 15th century the Spessart was a wild and unexploited virgin forest, used as a hideout by bandits and Hussites, who despoiled the regions nearby. Therefore, in 1427 Hamann Echter, the son of the first owner, began to rebuild his father's house to a fortified castle with walls, towers, and a moat using the nearby lake.

Only the Bergfried, the round tower, remains from the 15th century. The following generations changed the defense structures to a typical manor-house, mainly built in the Renaissance style. Today's fundamental appearance is the result of reconstruction done between 1551 and 1569 by Peter Echter of Mespelbrunn and his wife, Gertrud of Adelsheim.

The most famous member of the family was Julius Echter, Prince-bishop of Würzburg. A prominent proponent of the Counter-Reformation, he founded the Juliusspital, a hospital, in Würzburg, in 1576, and re-founded the University of Würzburg in 1583.

Due to its remote location in a side valley of the Elsava, surrounded by forests, the castle was one of the few in Franconia spared destruction in the Thirty Years' War.

In 1665, the last male member of the Echter family died. In 1648, Maria Ottilia, Echterin of Mespelbrunn, had married Philipp Ludwig of Ingelheim, a member of a family of barons, later made Grafen (Counts) of Ingelheim.

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

Schloss Mespelbrunn ranks #1,525 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #116 of the 492 mapped in Germany. Founded 1412, it is older than 52% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 434 atlas entries founded in the 15th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 3,835 times in the last 60 days, more than 80% of the atlas. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Frankfurt, 50 km away. See how Germany compares in the castle statistics.

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