Nebra Castle

Nebra Castle is the ruin of a hilltop castle at 148 m above sea level in Nebra (Unstrut) in the Burgenlandkreis district of Saxony-Anhalt. It was first mentioned in 1207 and was built on a sandstone rock located further south. Today, only a residential tower and remnants of the chapel built after 1250 remain as ruins, as well as the barrel vaults of the wine cellar.

Until 1247, the castle was a seat of the Landgraves of Thuringia. Afterwards, it came into the possession of the Counts of Querfurt. The castle and the town were besieged and destroyed several times, for example in 1341 by Frederick the Serious. During the Saxon Fratricidal War from 1446 to 1451, new destructions occurred due to a siege by troops of Elector Frederick II (Frederick the Gentle).

Some years later, Frederick von Nißmitz received the castle and town as a fief from William the Brave. Under Quirin and Georg von Nißmitz, parts of the complex were demolished and rebuilt into a Renaissance-style manor, which thus corresponded to a palace. The castle and the town remained in the possession of the Nißmitz family until 1718.

During the Thirty Years' War, the castle was occupied by Swedish troops from 1636 to 1648, partially destroyed again, and subsequently fell into disrepair.

Only in 1874 was a new castle in Neo-Renaissance style built directly next to the ruin.