Montfort Castle

Montfort Castle on Lake Constance is the landmark of the municipality of Langenargen. Once planned under the name Villa Argena, it was intended to serve King Wilhelm I of Württemberg as a pleasure palace. It was built on a headland on the site of the ruins of Argen Castle. Today it houses a discotheque and a catering establishment, and summer concerts take place in the hall on the upper floor.

In Roman times, two massive watchtowers stood close together on an island in the lake. In the 14th century, the Counts of Montfort had the "Veste Burg Argen" (Argen Water Castle) built on this spot.

The town and the castle of the Montforts were heavily damaged in the Thirty Years' War, but later rebuilt. The castle was subsequently expanded into a palace (late 17th century), used as a prison around 1800, and approved for demolition in 1810.

In 1858, Wilhelm I of Württemberg bought the ruins of the old Argen Castle for 3,000 guilders and had the walls demolished in 1861.

The plan of the Ravensburg district building councilor Gottlieb Pfeilsticker envisioned building a villa in the Moorish style based on the Villa Avigdor in Nice. However, the project was only slowly realized due to the king's health condition.

After Wilhelm's death in 1864, King Karl of Württemberg ascended the throne. He also gave the villa the name Montfort Castle, which is still in use today.

In 1867, the castle, including the outbuilding, was completed. A total of 261,000 guilders were spent on the construction, of which 30,000 guilders alone were for furnishings and 5,800 guilders were spent on chandeliers.

Already in 1864, Karl offered his mother Pauline to use the castle as a widow's residence during the summer months. This was regulated in detail in 1867 by an agreement between the royal Lord Chamberlain's Office and the Queen Mother's Court Marshal's Office.

However, Pauline renounced its use as early as 1868, whereupon King Karl decided to sell the building.

A buyer was found in 1873 in Princess Luise of Prussia (1829–1901). She acquired the castle, including all associated real estate and movable property, for the price of 130,000 guilders. Princess Luise used the castle as her residence, mainly in summer, until her death in 1901.

20th Century

In 1902, the heir Prince Friedrich Karl of Hesse sold the castle to Privy Councillor Wilhelm Oliver von Leube (Professor of the Medical Clinic at the University of Würzburg; 1842–1922). Thus, the castle was converted into a bourgeois estate.

In 1940, the castle was bought by the Deutsche Reichsbahn, which wanted to turn it into a recreation home for its officials. Due to the war conditions, these plans could not be realized, so the castle passed into the possession of the association Gemeinschaft für Volkstum Langenargen e.V. The purchase price at that time was 225,000 Reichsmark, and it was subsequently converted into a spa house.

In 1961, the castle was transferred to the municipality of Langenargen, in whose possession it remains to this day. Further renovation and preservation measures were carried out and continue to this day.