The best walks and hikes in Südlicher Itzgrund

Very nice corner for hiking and admiring the rock formations. A mysterious place. Definitely worth a visit. 👍

During the Third Reich, the castle was initially used by the Reichspost (Reich Postal Service) as a postal convalescent home from 1941 onward. After the Second World War, the German Federal Postal Service leased it to Caritas, which operated a retirement home. In 1976, the Postal Service sold the property to Munich entrepreneur Oskar Hacker, who had the castle restored between 1987 and 1993 to use it as a hotel and restaurant. Following Oskar Hacker's death in 2016, the castle has been owned by the non-profit Oskar Hacker Foundation, which has its headquarters in the castle. The foundation operates the Oskar Hacker Art Forum, which, among other things, has erected the permanent exhibition "Glaskunst im Schlosspark" by Borowski and a White Cube by photographer Mike Meyer in the park since 2024. The hotel and upscale restaurants are leased. Source: https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schloss_Hohenstein_(Oberfranken)

Today's Hohenstein Castle was first documented in 1306 as "Castum Hohenstein in dem Grabfelde," or "castle." Countess Jutta von Henneberg was listed as its owner. Over the next 150 years, the hilltop castle changed hands several times until Duke William of Saxony, who granted the castle "zu dem Hohen Steyn" as a fief to the brothers Hans and Thomas von Lichtenstein. In 1466, the Bamberg vassals Kunz von Aufseß and Kunz von Streitberg, whose ancestral castles were located in Franconian Switzerland, devastated the castle. Both knights, along with their brother Kunz Ochs, who was also involved, were soon sentenced by the Coburg City Court to compensate for the damage caused and to pay 4,000 guilders to the Coburg rulers for breach of the peace. Source: https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schloss_Hohenstein_(Oberfranken)

Beautiful concrete sculpture with 2 faces;

In the Hollywood film, Martin Luther celebrated his wedding to Katharina von Bora, a nun who had escaped from the monastery, at Hohenstein Castle. In the spring of 2002, the celebratory scenes for the historical film "Luther" were filmed here under the direction of Eric Till. "Shakespeare in Love" star Joseph Fiennes played Martin Luther here for several days of filming alongside top-class actors. Other stars of the film included Claire Cox as Katharina von Bora, Sir Peter Ustinov as Elector Frederick the Wise, Bruno Ganz as Johann von Staupitz, Uwe Ochsenknecht as Pope Leo X, and Mathieu Carrière as Cardinal Cajetan.

Hohenstein Castle was first mentioned in 1306 as "Castum Hohenstein in dem Grabfelde." Over the next 150 years, the hilltop castle changed hands several times until Duke William of Saxony, who granted the castle "zu dem Hohen Steyn" as a fief to the brothers Hans and Thomas von Lichtenstein. In 1525, rebellious peasants from Thomas Münzer's hordes invaded and burned the medieval castle to the ground. The uninhabitable remains of the castle, still in fiefdom of the von Lichtenstein family, were not rebuilt as a Renaissance-style castle until 1573 by Michael von Lichtenstein. Shortly before the end of the Thirty Years' War, the castle was plundered by "Swedish peoples" in 1648. After changing owners several times, the castle came into the possession of the Barons von Imhof in 1759. In 1937, the family sold the castle, but not the surrounding lands. The Reichspost used the castle as a postal convalescent home from 1941 onwards. After the Second World War, the German Federal Postal Service leased it to Caritas as a retirement home. In 1976, the Munich entrepreneur Oskar Hacker acquired the property. Since 2016, the castle has belonged to the non-profit Oskar Hacker Foundation, which leases it as a castle hotel with upscale dining.

The "Alte Henne" wine tavern near Hohenstein Castle is a restaurant and forest beer garden with a charm all its own. The dishes here are primarily prepared with fresh, regional products. The "Alte Henne" is open Fridays and Saturdays from 6 p.m. and Sundays for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The sandstone found here was once mined in the historic quarry in the western part of the landscape park of Hohenstein Castle.