Neckarhausen Castle

Neckarhausen Castle is located in the center of the Neckarhausen district of the municipality of Edingen-Neckarhausen in the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis. The building, designed in the Neoclassical style, is now owned by the municipality and houses, among other things, the municipal administration.

Originally, a Thurn und Taxis post office probably stood on the castle grounds from about 1614. This served the postal route opened in the same year between Rheinhausen near Speyer and Frankfurt am Main. Mannheim, then still young, joined in 1667 by sending a city messenger to Neckarhausen twice a week. In 1682, the historical buildings are first documented in a property register. The history of the post office ended in 1699 with its relocation to Mannheim. The heir of the then owner Johann Michael Susmann, Johann Georg von Susmann, built a Baroque manor house in 1746 to appropriately represent his rank as Vice Chancellor at the Electoral Palatinate court. In 1777, the estate was purchased by Baron Franz Albert von Oberndorff, who had been an Imperial Count since 1790. After major damage in 1784, the building was renovated. At that time, the area contained a two-story central building, a left corner pavilion with a flower garden in between, and a barn on the left side. Between 1824 and 1825, Alfred von Oberndorff commissioned a renovation of the house. The renovation was managed by the architect Jacob Friedrich Dyckerhoff. The second upper floor of the house was extended and the facade was redesigned in a Neoclassical style. During the skirmishes of the Baden Revolution on June 21 and 22, 1849, Neckarhausen Castle was damaged. Cannonballs embedded in the facade still bear witness to this today. During a renovation shortly thereafter, the side buildings were connected to the main building by means of terraces. The castle acquired its current appearance during the last major renovation from 1910 to 1911 through an addition to the corner buildings and an extension of the terrace buildings. The renovation was led by the architect Leonhard Schäfer from Darmstadt. The municipality of Neckarhausen bought the building in 1960 and, after the merger to form the municipality of Edingen-Neckarhausen, extensively renovated it from late 1975 to 1980. Today, in addition to the municipal administration, the building houses several associations, the public library, and a municipal museum. Other users include the adult education center and the music school. The former dining hall now serves as the council chamber.