Rothestein Castle

Rothestein Castle near Bad Sooden-Allendorf is a Neo-Gothic castle complex on the western slope of the Gobert ridge in the Werra-Meißner district in Hesse (Germany).

Its name derives from the red sandstone of the mountain on which the castle stands.

Rothestein Castle is located 3.25 km southeast of Bad Sooden-Allendorf and about 1.2 km from the westernmost Gobert peak "Hörne" (approx. 515 m above sea level) on the Schlossberg, which is about 308 m above sea level, in the Southern Gobert Foreland natural area. About 500 m to the west, but about 150 m lower, the Werra river passes with a river loop below Kleinvachs.

On August 13, 1891, Adolph Freiherr von und zu Gilsa, the director of the Kassel Theater, laid the foundation stone for the castle, on the site of a vanished medieval castle, probably the so-called "Osterburg". The plans for the complex came from the Kassel architect Georg Kegel. With the start of construction, the nursery was first built at the foot of the Hörne, and a villa with outbuildings, which the builder initially inhabited and thus could follow the progress of the work. These progressed only slowly.

In 1897, the entire property was sold to the German-born industrialist Baron von Knoop from Manchester, who had the castle extended with an annex in 1911. The main castle was then acquired in 1927 by Freiherr von Lüninck. His family owned the entire complex until 1989. Today, they still own the nursery buildings. In 1994, the castle was bought by the graduate engineer Theo Becker from Bergisch Gladbach, who passed away in 2010. He invested in both the building and the access road.

Becker had made it publicly accessible, after the building could only be visited in rare cases in the meantime, and opened a café in the summer of 2009 with a local restaurateur. From its terrace, there is a view of the Werra Valley and the Hoher Meißner.