Laar Castle (Zierenberg)

Laar is a district of Zierenberg in the Kassel district, Hesse (Germany). It consists of the few houses of the "Gutshof Laar" (Laar Estate), the "Alte Mühle" (Old Mill), and Laar Castle with its park. Laar is located in North Hesse in the northern part of the Habichtswald Nature Park, about 4.3 km north of the core town of Zierenberg. It is nestled in the valley, lined with forested mountains, on the middle course of the southern Diemel tributary, the Warme.

The Laar Estate, which is culturally and historically significant in the completeness of its overall location, originally belonged to the judicial district of the von der Malsburg family, in whose possession Laar was first mentioned in 1322. They sold the estate in 1688 or 1691 to the Hessian Landgrave Karl. Subsequently, the estate owners changed frequently; in 1901, Wilhelm von Starck took over the estate.

Laar Castle, to which a small park with a pond adjoins to the south, was built on the southern edge of Laar around 1790. The farm buildings date from 1565 and 1599. The estate includes a small cemetery, which houses the graves of various landlords and employees.

Alte Mühle

The elaborately restored "Alte Mühle" (Old Mill), built in 1599 as a water mill on the eastern edge of Laar on the Warme, has been generating electricity since its restoration in 1994 and houses a mill museum. Approximately 350 m northeast of the mill and thus slightly above Laar, there is a small ring fort in the forest area of "Hagen Laar."