Purschenstein Castle, Renaissance castle in Neuhausen, Germany

Purschenstein Castle is a Renaissance castle in Neuhausen, in the Ore Mountains of Saxony, Germany, set on a hillside above the Flöha valley close to the old Bohemian Trail. The complex groups several buildings of different construction periods around a central courtyard, including residential wings, a tower, and a former outbuilding.

The site was founded around 1200 by Boresch I to control a salt trade route through the Ore Mountains, and it passed through many hands over the following centuries. In the 16th century, the buildings were substantially rebuilt in the Renaissance style that still defines their appearance today.

The castle's name comes from Castrum Borsensteyn, after Boresch I (Borso) of the Hrabischitz family, who is credited with building it around 1200. Since 2005 it has belonged to the Dutch Praagman family, who converted it into the Schlosshotel Purschenstein; Bastiaan Praagman runs it. Rooms are also used for wedding celebrations, and the DDR motorcycle collection of the Schwarz family is exhibited here.

The castle now operates as a hotel, so visiting is easiest by staying overnight or eating at the restaurant; day visitors should check in advance which parts of the grounds are open to the public. The park around the buildings is a good starting point for exploring the estate, and the location on the edge of Neuhausen makes it easy to reach from nearby walking trails.

The castle's oldest surviving structure is its 42-metre bergfried, or keep, built in the 13th or 14th century with walls 2.85 metres thick. It survived the fires of 1842 and 1989 that destroyed much of the rest of the complex, which is why so little of the original medieval castle remains today.