Schloss Neuenstein hosts seminars and conferences for up to 90 people, company events, civil and church weddings and private celebrations. The castle stands on a limestone cliff above the village of Saasen, part of the municipality of Neuenstein in northern Hesse, at Schlossbergweg 2. The municipality owns it and converted it into a conference and event center between 2002 and 2003.
Seminars and company events
Four meeting rooms form the conference floor, with an IT training room and further rooms for breakout groups. The largest, the Rittersaal, takes 90 for a presentation, 36 in parliament layout or 24 around a U-shape. Equipment includes projectors with screens, flipcharts, pinboards, a lectern, WiFi and wired network access. Day packages bring fresh fruit at the start, snacks or cake during breaks, and lunch in a dining room with a panoramic view, or in the inner courtyard when the weather allows. Parking is on site. For larger company events, the castle opens its rooms and grounds for corporate gatherings and public events, organized with partners.
Weddings and receptions
The castle chapel is set up as a wedding room for both civil and church ceremonies, and in the darker months ceremonies take place by candlelight alone. In summer, couples can marry in the rose garden or the castle courtyard. Local registrars prepare the civil ceremony with the couple, and a civil ceremony can be paired with a free, personal ceremony. After an outdoor ceremony, a sparkling wine toast and finger food can be served in the shaded apple garden. The celebration then moves to the Wintergarten, the vaulted cellar or the Rittersaal. Below the castle pond, a rustic party hut with a bar, cooling and restrooms suits a barbecue or a late party.
Rooms and capacities
The Rittersaal measures 100 square meters: 90 in presentation layout, 36 parliament, 24 U-shape. Raum Saasen, 70 square meters, takes 60, 20 and 18. Raum Obergeis, 73 square meters, takes 30 for a presentation and 12 in parliament or U-shape. Raum Mühlbach, 56 square meters, takes 25, 16 and 12. The Wintergarten, the vaulted cellar, the chapel, the courtyard, the rose garden and the party hut complete the list; the site gives no figures for them.
Catering
The castle team organizes food for conferences and celebrations, from break service and lunch to the wedding toast, and prepares individual offers on request.
History and setting
The castle is first recorded in 1267. Count Albert I of Wallenstein built it in the mid-13th century as Neuwallenstein. It was besieged and destroyed in 1318, rebuilt from 1357 by Simon of Wallenstein, and taken in 1366 by Landgrave Otto of Hesse. The core is a regular square dominated by a 28-meter keep. After the last Wallenstein died, the castle passed to Hesse in 1745. It later housed estate administrators, a Prussian forestry office from 1870 and the Hessian forestry office of Neuenstein until 1996. The municipality bought it in 2000. A rose garden and a natural garden surround the walls.
Getting there
The castle sits about 350 meters above sea level in the middle of Germany, in the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district. Bad Hersfeld, the nearest main line station, is a short drive away.
