Burg Schwebda, Water castle in Meinhard, Hesse, Germany

Burg Schwebda is a water castle in Meinhard surrounded by moats and featuring thick stone walls. The building displays typical medieval defensive architecture with sturdy structures designed to protect its residents.

Burg Schwebda was probably built between 1243 and 1269, when the Lords of Schwebda are documented. In 1297 they enfeoffed their property to the Lords of Bilstein; after that family died out, the castle passed by charter to the Landgraves of Hesse in 1301. In the 16th century the castle was demolished, and its older parts were reused to build the Steinerne Haus, which survives in private ownership.

The castle was home to noble families who displayed their power and controlled the surrounding region. The rooms and fortifications show how these families lived and what role they played in their communities.

The site lies in the Lindenanger of Schwebda, a district of Meinhard in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis. The former moat once linked it to the Werra river. The surviving Steinerne Haus is privately owned, so the grounds are not open to visitors; the building can be viewed from the public lane.

The moat once linked the castle directly to the Werra river, so the site could be supplied or flooded from the river itself. The castle was demolished in the 16th century; its older parts were reused to build the Steinerne Haus, which survives in private ownership and retains an Aborterker, a toilet bay projecting from the wall.