Schnepfenburg Castle

The Schnepfenburg was a castle built in the Middle Ages in the town of Bad Salzungen in the Wartburg district in Thuringia.

In the Middle Ages, Salzungen was an important saltworks town and a hub in the network of Hessian-Thuringian long-distance roads. Already in prehistoric times, the Celts had discovered a saline spring not far from the castle hill and founded a fortified settlement for salt extraction. During excavations on the castle hill, cultural layers from subsequent settlement phases up to the late Middle Ages were also found. Presumably, further fortifications were already built by the Franks. Under the Fulda Monastery, this castle complex was founded around 1160 and militarily equipped. Its first mention occurred in 1166. The castle complex was later incorporated into the town's fortifications and formed the southwestern bulwark. The castlemen were obliged to build residences within the town; among them is the Haunscher Hof. In the town chronicle, the name of the castle is initially not mentioned; only the discovery of a document in the container at the top of the tower revealed the name, speaking of the "invincible Schnepfenburg". The castle was temporarily owned by the Counts of Frankenstein, who had built their ancestral castle - the Frankenstein - on the opposite side of the valley. Both castles were besieged and captured by King Adolf of Nassau in 1295. The Schnepfenburg remained important as a town castle and official residence and also served as a court and prison. During the last major town fire in 1786, the Schnepfenburg also caught fire and had to be partially demolished. On the foundations of the castle, the current district court building and the Salzunger town church were erected.