Red Castle, Heritage château in Weimar, Germany

The Red Castle (Rotes Schloss) stands on the Platz der Demokratie in Weimar, built 1574–1576 as a widow's residence. Its portal bears the coats of arms of Duchess Dorothea Susanne, born of the Palatinate, and of Duke Johann Wilhelm I of Saxe-Weimar. The east wing was demolished in 1808; Clemens Wenzeslaus Coudray's classicist blind arcades closed the gap in 1820.

The Red Castle was built between 1574 and 1576 as the widow's residence of Duchess Dorothea Susanne, a daughter of the Elector Palatine; its portal bears the coats of arms of the Palatinate and of her late husband, Duke Johann Wilhelm I of Saxe-Weimar. From 1702 to 1703 Johann Sebastian Bach lived here. The east wing housed the Princely Drawing School from 1781 to 1807, and in 1808 the reshaping of the Fürstenplatz led to its demolition; the gap was closed only in 1820 by Clemens Wenzeslaus Coudray's classicist blind arcades.

The name Rotes Schloss refers to the colour of the building, not to brickwork: the facade is plastered. Its portal carries the coats of arms of the Palatinate of the Rhine and of Duke Johann Wilhelm of Saxe-Weimar, linking the widow's residence to both families. Today the building houses the research library and study centre of the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek.

The Rotes Schloss stands on the Platz der Demokratie, whose eastern side was closed in 1820 by Clemens Wenzeslaus Coudray's classical arcades. The building now houses the research library and modern study centre of the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek, so access follows the library's reading-room arrangements rather than independent opening hours.

The building's name comes from its red-painted facade, not from brickwork. Its portal still carries the coats of arms of Duchess Dorothea Susanne, born of the Palatinate, and of her husband Duke Johann Wilhelm I of Saxe-Weimar, dating from the construction years 1574–1576.