Graefenhausen Castle

The former castle of Graefenhausen

The Castle Gräfenhausen is a former castle in Weiterstadt district Gräfenhausen in southern Hesse Darmstadt-Dieburg . Today it houses a retirement and nursing home , the Ohlystift.

history

After 1211, Waro von Hagen, a younger brother of Kuno von Hagen-Münzenberg, probably built a castle or moated castle . It was owned by the Reich Forest of Dreieich . The castle was probably an imperial fief . For over 400 years, Graefenhausen remained in the possession of the Lords of Heusenstamm . The moated castle was in the center of the village; there are no more remains of it.

The Graefenhausen Castle, now called Ohlystift, was built in 1555. In a Gräfenhausen Salbuch from 1725 it was described as follows: The castle has a two-story house with a watchtower and fountain, nine pigsties, a plant garden, a shooting garden, a wooden barn and a large shed with a hayloft.

In the second half of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century, renovations and new buildings were made into a renaissance castle . Hans Heinrich von Heussenstamm had the forecourt, four barns and several stables built, and the fortified strength of the castle with three bulwarks.

Change of ownership

In 1658 Schloss Graefenhausen was sold by the Lords of Heusenstamm to the Landgraviate of Hessen-Darmstadt after long negotiations . Two years later, the sale of the palace was approved by Emperor Leopold I. Landgrave Ludwig IX. In 1775 donated the castle with all its accessories to the Princely Invalid Institute in 1775. Hessian invalids moved into the castle with their wives and children. The number of children rose enormously until 1818, so that Grand Duke Ludwig I decided to end the work of the institution. In the same year attempts were made to auction the castle. Despite the offers that were published in newspapers, there was no sale. The castle was used as a military hospital for the next two years and then left empty for over ten years. Finally, in 1832, the castle was sold for 5917 guilders to the Mainz calico manufacturer Nikolaus Schwarz, who set up a manufactory in the castle. However, the buyer did not receive everything from the castle. As early as 1819 the stables were auctioned off for demolition. On the same day as Nikolaus Schwarz, the Graefenhausen citizen Wilhelm Knauf bought the Kättchensgarten for 792 guilders.

The manufactured goods factory did not last long. After that, the castle changed hands several times. From 1846 it was in the hands of Johannes Röder. Ten years later, Count Friedrich von Otting-Fünfstetten bought it. In 1864 he sold it to Johann Schüler widow from Frankfurt . Another six years later, the Englishman Joseph James Bridge received it. In 1873 the castle passed to Georg Lapper from Darmstadt and a year later to the dairy owner Heinrich Saul from Kassel . Finally, the city of Darmstadt bought it in 1887 for 17,500 marks .

The ohly pen

After numerous changes of ownership, the city of Darmstadt set up a welfare institution for neglected, physically or morally endangered children in 1888. In the first year the institution accommodated 32 boys and 18 girls. Twenty years later there were already 60 school-age and 20 confirmed children. After confirmation , most of the boys started a free apprenticeship, but some were also taught in the asylum workshops or in the nursery for their future lives. Housekeeping, kitchen and laundry jobs were planned for the girls.

In the years 1898 and 1900 the castle was slightly rebuilt. In 1898 a two-story building was built on the old stair tower and pigsties, sheds, stalls, barns and laundry rooms were built, which were needed for agriculture. In the same year, 8,175 m² of arable land was also purchased. Between 1898 and 1899 the old dining room was demolished and a new one built.

Since 1896 the establishment has been called Ohlystift, named after the former Lord Mayor of Darmstadt, Albrecht Ohly .

retirement home

The care of young people ended in 1958. Since then, the Ohlystift has been used as a retirement home for the city of Darmstadt. In April 1979 the municipality of Weiterstadt bought the castle from the city of Darmstadt after lengthy negotiations. The municipality had it renovated between 1988 and 1990 for DM 5.50 million . Little is left of the actual castle today. The moat and courtyard fell victim to the renovation work. A community center was built on the former shooting range as early as 1962. The buildings that were built for agricultural use no longer exist either. Today the former castle is used as a retirement and nursing home and as a school.

literature

• Chronicle of the community of Weiterstadt and its districts Braunshardt, Graefenhausen, Riedbahn, Schneppenhausen . ISBN 9783924803087 , Günther Hoch. 1988.
• Günther Hoch, Karl Schnitzspan: 750 years of Graefenhausen. 1225-1975 . 1975.
• Rudolf Knappe: Medieval castles in Hesse: 800 castles, castle ruins and castle sites. 3. Edition. Wartberg-Verlag, Gudensberg-Gleichen 2000, ISBN 3-86134-228-6 , p. 526.
• Rolf Müller (Ed.): Palaces, castles, old walls. Published by the Hessendienst der Staatskanzlei, Wiesbaden 1990, ISBN 3-89214-017-0 , p. 365.

Web links

• Graefenhausen Castle, Darmstadt-Dieburg district. Historical local dictionary for Hessen. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
• Graefenhausen Castle in the wiki of the project "Renaissance Castles in Hesse" at the Germanic National Museum

Individual evidence

1. ↑ GNM; Graefenhausen, castle
2. ^ Günther Hoch, Karl Schnitzspan: 750 Years of Graefenhausen , p. 101 and p. 104
3. ↑ Planning office Kellner Kraus Stark GmbH; Ohlystift ( Memento of the original from May 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

Coordinates: 49 ° 55 ′ 45 ″  N , 8 ° 36 ′ 3 ″  E