Can visitors walk around Idstein Castle freely?

No, the Schloss and the tower can only be visited by prior arrangement, as the rest of the building is used by a school.

Why is the keep called the Hexenturm?

The nickname only spread around 1900 through a popular novel and has no real connection to anyone accused of witchcraft actually being held there.

Who built the Renaissance Schloss?

Count Ludwig II of Nassau-Idstein began construction from 1614 onward, on the site of the former outer ward.

What remains of the medieval fortress?

The keep, a hall building, a fifteenth-century gatehouse and the former courthouse are the best-preserved medieval elements.

Idstein Castle

Idstein

Access

No visits on recordNo opening hours or ticketing found

Where: Idstein

To make a day of it

Open within 20 km

Sleep nearby

Burg Idstein stands in Idstein (Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis), in Hesse, Germany. The building is a listed Baudenkmal. No visits are on record for this building.

Idstein Castle rises on a rocky spur above the old town, where an eleventh-century stronghold later gave way, in part, to a Renaissance Schloss built for the counts of Nassau-Idstein. From the medieval period the keep, a hall building, a fifteenth-century gatehouse and the former courthouse still stand, while the seventeenth-century wing retains Baroque interiors created by Italian stucco workers and painters. Its keep, nicknamed the Hexenturm or Witches' Tower, has become the town's best-known landmark, even though no one accused of witchcraft was ever actually held there. Now owned by the town, the complex houses a school, and only the Schloss and the tower can be seen, by appointment.

Written from Idstein Castle

What to know

The Schloss and the Hexenturm can only be visited by prior arrangement.
The rest of the building is used as an active school and is not open to the public.
The site is listed as a Kulturdenkmal in Hesse.
A twenty-metre stone bridge links the former outer ward to the original fortified core, next to a small Renaissance-style garden.

Where this château is

Idstein · Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis · Hessen

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This châteauChâteaux within 40 km

Address

Schloßgasse 20, 65510 Idstein

Directions open from wherever you are, by car or public transport.

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Heritage status: Kulturdenkmal in Hessen

In pictures

Frequently asked

Can visitors walk around Idstein Castle freely?: No, the Schloss and the tower can only be visited by prior arrangement, as the rest of the building is used by a school.
Why is the keep called the Hexenturm?: The nickname only spread around 1900 through a popular novel and has no real connection to anyone accused of witchcraft actually being held there.
Who built the Renaissance Schloss?: Count Ludwig II of Nassau-Idstein began construction from 1614 onward, on the site of the former outer ward.
What remains of the medieval fortress?: The keep, a hall building, a fifteenth-century gatehouse and the former courthouse are the best-preserved medieval elements.