Wasserschloss Netra, Renaissance water castle in Netra, Ringgau, Germany

Wasserschloss Netra is a water castle in Ringgau featuring Renaissance elements including a mansard roof, four corner towers, and a hexagonal staircase tower on its southwestern side. The structure sits within water-filled moats that originally surrounded all sides and gave the building its defensive character.

The Lords of Netra held the estate until Andreas von Netra died in 1558, ending the male line; it then passed to the related Lords of Boyneburg-Hohnstein. They demolished the remains of the older castle and built the present Renaissance building between 1590 and 1600. When that family died out in 1792, the neglected castle reverted to Hesse-Kassel, which restored it and ran the estate as a state domain until 1904.

The name Netra comes from the noble family of the same name: a Conrad of the widespread Boyneburg lineage called himself "von Netra" from about 1277, and the line died out with Andreas von Netra in 1558. The moat water was led in from the Leimbach about 120 m to the west through a short canal and returned to the stream through a second canal.

The castle sits at Schloßstraße 9-12 in Ringgau-Netra and can be viewed from the surrounding public streets since it remains privately owned. The best views come from the paths and roads circling the property.

The northern section of the original water moat was filled in 1847, giving the fortification an asymmetrical water layout instead of its original all-around defense. The three remaining water-filled sides still display the protective design as once imagined by its builders.