Schloss Blumenstein (Wildeck)

[2] In 1627, the forest and the ruins of Wildeck castle came into the possession of the semi-sovereign Landgraviate of Hesse-Rotenburg, created by Landgrave Maurice of Hesse-Kassel to provide for his sons from his second marriage to Juliane of Nassau.

[1] In 1727, Landgrave Ernst II Leopold of Hesse-Rotenburg built a hunting lodge on the ruins of Wildeck castle, naming it Blumenstein.

Because the Electors of Hesse have many palaces at their disposal, like Schloss Wilhelmshöhe and its beautiful gardens, they show no interest in Blumenstein.

[3] Only small remains of the hunting lodge survive – a cellar on the northern side and the archway on the access path.

[2] The park still features a 22-meter-high sandstone obelisk, presumably erected around 1790 by Landgrave Charles Emmanuel of Hesse-Rothenburg for his wife, Maria Leopoldine of Liechtenstein.

[1] On the front, there is a relief of a Greek amphora, and above it, in the border, is the Latin inscription "QUAM RAPUIT INVIDA MORS RESTITUTA" (She whom envious death stole has been restored).

[1] The pedestal is believed to have been an altar or memorial, possibly topped by a statue or other artwork, though it is unknown what originally stood on it, and the meaning of the inscription remains unclear.

Schloss Blumenstein, the Hessian Sanssouci, with right before it, a guest house, and the Blumenstein hunting lodge in the hills above it
The neoclassical façade of Schloss Blumenstein (1830)
Plan of Schloss Blumenstein and its direct surroundings (1830)
Floor plan of Schloss Blumenstein (1840)
Remains of the Blumenstein hunting lodge
The forestry house built on the foundations of Schloss Wildeck