Landgrafenschloss Wanfried, Medieval castle in Wanfried, Germany

Landgrafenschloss Wanfried is a castle in the center of the small town of Wanfried in northern Hesse, with a rectangular layout whose main building stands on the north side of an inner courtyard and rises two stories. Several wings surround this courtyard, and the oldest residential building still shows timber frame details.

The site was a moated royal estate called Königsgut in Wanifredum, which Emperor Heinrich II gave to the Abbey of Hersfeld on 5 February 1015. From 1293 it was developed into a water castle guarding the trade road to Mühlhausen, Eisenach and Leipzig. Landgrave Philipp I had it enlarged in 1534, and Wilhelm IV rebuilt parts around 1589. Tilly's troops nearly destroyed it on 25 June 1626; rebuilding began in 1645, and Landgrave Karl of Hessen-Wanfried made it his residence from 1667.

The oldest residential building still shows timber frame details from the 16th century that visitors can spot while walking through the courtyard. This construction style was common in the region and sets this part of the complex apart from the later stone sections.

Walking around the inner courtyard gives a good sense of the different building phases of the complex. Keep in mind that parts of the castle are still inhabited, so not all areas are open to visitors at all times.

The castle was rebuilt several times after 1645, so the Seven Years War period, when it served as a military hospital, left no single visible trace but sits within a structure repeatedly altered. Its last noble owner, Carl Xaver von Scharfenberg, bought it in 1886 from the Prussian domain administration.