Brandenfels Castle (Ruin) (Markershausen)

The castle was built in 1248 by the Lords of Boineburg. In 1260, the castle was unsuccessfully besieged during the Hessian-Thuringian War of Succession. Later, it came into the possession of the Landgraves of Thuringia through a treaty. They granted the castle as a hereditary fief to the Treusche von Buttlar. In 1326, the Archbishop of Magdeburg was captured near Eisenach by the Lords of Buttlar and held captive at Brandenfels Castle for ransom. In 1384, due to highway robbery, the castle was besieged by Landgrave Balthasar of Thuringia with the imperial cities of Erfurt, Mühlhausen, and Nordhausen. The siege failed. Later, co-ownership parts of the castle were sold to the Lords of Colmatsch, which ignited a years-long dispute over ownership. In 1540, the castle came to Hesse due to a settlement between Saxony-Thuringia and Landgrave Philip the Great. In 1550, the castle was in the sole possession of the Treusche von Buttlar. In the 17th century, the complex fell into disrepair as the owners settled in the valley. The ruin is still owned by the Treusch von Buttlar family today.