Waldeck Castle

Waldeck Castle (or Waldeck Fortress) is a castle-like fortified complex from the 12th century in the urban area of Waldeck in the district of Waldeck-Frankenberg in Hesse (Germany). The castle is located in the northern part of the Kellerwald-Edersee Nature Park above the northern shore of Lake Edersee. It stands on a steep, rocky mountain with wooded slopes. The complex is located on the western edge of Waldeck's core town (Waldeck district) and is easily accessible from the town center via a road.

The hilltop castle was first mentioned in a document in 1120. After Count Widekind I of Schwalenberg married Lutrud of Itter and his son Volkwin married Luitgard, a daughter of Count Poppo I of Ziegenhain, the castle came into the possession of the Schwalenbergs. From 1180, a branch of this house named itself after the castle. Until 1655, the castle, repeatedly renovated and converted into a castle over time, was the residence of the Counts of Waldeck, after which they moved to Arolsen. The complex then served various purposes. Initially, it was a fortress and seat of a castle commandant, then a barracks, from 1734 to 1868 a penitentiary and women's prison. Since 1920, it has belonged to the Waldeck Domanial Administration and is public property.

The lower round gate at the Powder Tower (1637) bears the coat of arms of the Waldeck-Pyrmont line (around 1830); to the left of the archway at the gatehouse (also 1637), loopholes can still be seen.

The castle well, built in the 16th century, is 120 m deep. Here, water had to be brought to the surface bucket by bucket over a system of wheels in hours of work, before a water artifice was installed for water extraction in 1612.

Through the Upper Gate (1756), one passes the heavily altered building complex of the present-day hotel into the inner courtyard of the castle complex.

The north building is the so-called "Wildungen Wing", named after the Wildungen branch of the Counts of Waldeck, who lived here on the first floor between 1500 and 1577. The plinth floor is built into the rock. In the cellar were a water tank, an oil mill, and several baking ovens. On the octagonal tower of this wing are the coats of arms of three Waldeck lines, namely Waldeck and Runkel, Waldeck and East Frisia, and Waldeck and Hesse.

To the east, the keep rises as a three-story building made of Edersee greywacke with walls over 3 m thick. It dates from the end of the 13th or beginning of the 14th century and is thus one of the oldest surviving parts of the complex. Since the count's archive was housed in the keep between 1745 and 1761, it was also called the "Archive Tower". Between 1952 and 1997, it served as a water tower. Next to the keep, the museum is located in a newly designed building.

To the south, one reaches the Altane, a large terrace. In good weather, there is a wide view to the south towards the Edersee dam and to the west over the entire Edersee. Until 1734, the so-called "Eisenberg Wing" was located here, named after the other main branch of the Waldeck count family. Only its 13th-century cellar vaults remain. On the terrace are two cannons from Liège from 1862, which were used in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71. In addition, students from the Korbach training construction yard have recreated a pillory with an iron collar (called a Kaak).

To the west of the complex stands the Upper Gatehouse, which served as an official residence in the 19th century. Here is also the octagonal clock tower, built after 1500 in the late Gothic style. The heavily altered buildings now house a restaurant.