Winterstein Castle (Ruin)

Winterstein was first mentioned in a document in 1246. The place was owned by the Lords of Wangenheim, who built a moated castle there in 1307. A second castle complex - the Sommerstein - is still detectable today as an archaeological monument on the southern edge of the village. This complex was located at the beginning of an old road that led to the Grenzwiese at the Kleiner Inselsberg and from there into the Werra valley around Schmalkalden and Breitungen.

During the Thirty Years' War, the castle and village were affected. In 1638, the castle was dilapidated and not rebuilt.

The moated castle, preserved as a ruin, still shows remnants of Gothic pointed arch windows. The preserved Vogt building is a half-timbered building that once housed the forest administration. In the castle park is the dog monument for the "faithful dog Stutzel von Wangenheim", who probably performed messenger services for the lords and died in 1630.