Zillbach Castle

The forests, thinned out by glassmakers after only a few decades, favored the construction of a hunting lodge, which Georg Ernst von Henneberg-Schleusingen had built in the forests of Zillbach in 1543, and which existed until 1759. It was described as a circular, tower-like structure and made a very fortified impression on visitors. Around the main building, which was surrounded by a protective wall, further utility and storage buildings were subsequently erected.

According to the inheritance treaties with the Dukes of Saxony, the territories of the Henneberg counts fell to the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach in 1583, which was initially ruled jointly by the brothers Johann Casimir and Johann Ernst in Coburg. From 1587, Johann Ernst had his own castle built in Marksuhl, which was located in the Eisenach part of the principality. From there, he regularly undertook hunting trips to his territories. The hunting-loving Eisenach Duke Johann Georg I also made Marksuhl his residence from 1662 to 1672, from where he visited the hunting lodges built in the vicinity near Ruhla, Eisenach, and Zillbach.

In 1790, the current castle was rebuilt. The current Zillbach hunting lodge was built in 1790 and is a simple building. It is one of the castles built by the Dukes of Saxe-Eisenach. In 1795, a forestry academy was established there, which Johann Wolfgang von Goethe also visited several times in an official capacity.