Berleburg Castle (Bad Berleburg)

Berleburg Castle is located in Bad Berleburg, a town in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is used as a castle museum, displaying hunting equipment, uniforms, weapons, glassware, porcelain, and parts of the princely art collection.

The castle was built as a hilltop castle in the 13th century. On March 30, 1258, the castle passed to Count Siegfried I and the monastic bailiff Adolf I of Grafschaft. The termination of the dual rule in Berleburg by Widekind von Grafschaft ended in 1332, when he renounced his rights to the city in favor of Siegfried II of Wittgenstein in 1322. After the latter, the last of the Wittgenstein counts, died, his son-in-law Salentin von Sayn inherited. He founded the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein.

Between 1555 and 1557, the two-story north wing of the castle was extended. In 1585, the gatehouse was built. During the reign of Count Casimir, the three-story central wing was built from 1731 to 1733, which was rebuilt again in 1902. From 1732 to 1739, the Corps de Logis of Berleburg Castle was executed according to the plans of Julius Ludwig Rothweil. Friedrich von Thiersch added the flanking towers and altered the staircase during a renovation in 1912. The castle is currently owned by the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg family.