Fechenbach Castle

Fechenbach Castle was built in 1754 by the Würzburg court and cathedral master builder Johann Michael Fischer as the noble residence of the Barons of Reigersberg, later the Barons of Bethmann. During the transitional period between Prince-Bishop Carl Philipp von Greiffenclau 1749 – 1754 and Prince-Bishop Adam Friedrich Graf von Seinsheim 1755 – 1779, the Reigersberg fief became disputed, so that "the family fell into great financial distress". Therefore, the ceilings and the roof truss of Fechenbach Castle were built with inferior spruce wood and the castle remained a shell, i.e. the facade remained without exterior plaster and the interior was executed simply and poorly. In 1941, the Wissler family finally bought the castle.

In July 1945, the castle was confiscated by the Miltenberg District Office on behalf of the US military government and set up as an orphanage by the Johanniszweigverein Aschaffenburg. A longer-term use, e.g. through a donation to the association, failed because the wooden intermediate ceilings did not meet fire protection requirements. Thus, the building stood empty since 1954 and its structural substance was progressively endangered. The progressive decay of the Collenburg ruin was stopped by safeguarding measures in the 1980s. A use similar to that of its sister castles in Klingenberg (theater festivals) and Stadtprozelten (visitor castle) was not pursued. From 2005 – 2007, the ruin was fundamentally stabilized and partially restored according to the original building.

In 2006, the castle building received a new steel roof truss, new dirt-repellent tile roofing, and free-spanning reinforced concrete composite intermediate ceilings, which allow for a freely designable interior layout without disruptive support pillars. The original masonry and the new insulated-glazed windows enable economically optimal heating. Electric external blinds regulate the incidence of light as needed. The walls act as a thermal buffer - warming in winter and cooling in summer - thus contributing to an optimal indoor climate. Furthermore, for the first time in its history, the castle received the previously unfinished exterior plaster in a historically coordinated color scheme.


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