Nesselröden Castle, Renaissance castle in Nesselröden, Herleshausen, Germany

Nesselröden Castle is a three-storey Renaissance castle with a rectangular plan of about 26 by 17 metres, built of rough stone masonry with corner quoins. A five-sided staircase tower with a timber-framed top storey and a curved Welsche Haube projects from the south-southwest front, flanked by two four-storey risalits. The east and west gables have semicircular tops framed with pierced scrollwork.

Nesselröden was a Fulda fief of the Treusch von Buttlar family until 1539, when Prince-Abbot Johann III transferred lordship to Landgrave Philipp of Hesse. From 1592 to 1595 Burkhart Treusch von Buttlar built the present castle on the remains of an older fortification. When the Nesselröden branch died out in the early 19th century, the estate passed to the titular landgraves of Hessen-Philippsthal-Barchfeld, who used it as housing for estate staff.

The castle displays Renaissance architectural features that were valued by wealthy families in the region. Its stone walls and distinctive staircase tower reflect the building traditions common to this area.

The castle is located at Holzhäuser Straße 19 in Herleshausen and is easily visible from the street. Visitors should be aware that the building is privately owned and can only be viewed from the exterior.

The staircase tower's 1930 portal copies the original's pilasters, architrave and coat-of-arms top, including the year 1594, but only the coat-of-arms stone itself is original. The tower was restored in 2018, the side risalit facades in 2019, and the east facade's gables and window surrounds in 2020.