Schloss Rodenberg
Town museum in the Ständehaus of the former moated castle of Rodenberg with traditional costumes and town history, plus uncovered fortress towers at the Schlosswall.
About the museum
The moated castle of Rodenberg was probably built in the 13th century under the Counts of Holstein-Schaumburg at a ford of the Aue and protected the market town that became the town of Rodenberg in 1615. At times the Schaumburg counts ruled from here; around 1480 and around 1510 the complex received a rondel and a massive hexagonal bastion. In 1559/60 the old palas was renewed in Renaissance style as a meeting place for the provincial estates – today's Ständehaus.
In 1647 Rodenberg fell to Hesse-Kassel, and soon after the outer works were razed and the towers filled in. In the great town fire of 1859, parts of the castle burned down; except for the Ständehaus, all buildings were demolished and their stones reused in the town. In the hall of the Ständehaus, which at times served as a Catholic church, the painted ceiling is preserved to this day.
Since 1981 the Ständehaus has housed the Museum of the Town of Rodenberg. It shows traditional costumes from the Amt Rodenberg since the 18th century, a farmhouse parlor, crafts, town and flood history, and notable figures such as the writer Julius Rodenberg; in the vaulted cellar, farm machinery up to an old tractor can be seen.
Between 2000 and 2004, volunteers uncovered the buried fortress structures at the Schlosswall, secured the bastion, rondel, and two weirs, and roofed them over. Together with the rampart, moat, and information boards, they form the open-air museum. The ensemble is now run by the association Museumslandschaft Amt Rodenberg.
Highlights
- Renaissance Ständehaus as the last building of the moated castle
- Costume exhibition with a wedding couple and a christening party
- Painted hall ceiling from the time as a Catholic church
- Uncovered bastion and rondel with weirs at the Schlosswall
- Farm machinery and an old tractor in the vaulted cellar
Permanent exhibitions
- Museum im Ständehaus – Costumes of the Amt Rodenberg, a farmhouse parlor from Grove, crafts, town history with a prison door and flood, and well-known people from Rodenberg; in the vaulted cellar a section shows the farming year with tools and a tractor.
- Freilichtmuseum Schloss Rodenberg – Fortress structures of the Schaumburg counts uncovered at the Schlosswall – a hexagonal bastion from about 1510 and a rondel from about 1480 with weirs – explained by information boards.
- Founded
- 1981
- Operated by
- Museumslandschaft Amt Rodenberg e.V.
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
| Groups | –Tours by arrangement: children and school students €1 per person, adults €2 (museum in the Ständehaus) or €2.50 (museum and open-air museum). |
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Free admission, donations requested.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Kids & families
- Family tours & workshops
Under the title "Kreativspaß für Kinder" (Creative Fun for Kids), the museum association offers crafting afternoons, the results of which are sold at the Museumsadvent.
Getting there & parking
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Amenities & dining
- Museum shop
Small museum shop with publications and souvenirs.
Events & venue rental
- Spaces for rent
- Weddings / ceremonies
Civil wedding ceremonies in a historic setting are possible in the Ständehaus; appointments via the Rodenberg registry office (tel. 05723 705-36).
Inquiries & detailsPlan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
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| Good to know | During opening hours, volunteers of the museum service staff the exhibitions and explain exhibits, often in spontaneous short tours. Registered tours year-round by arrangement (tel. 05723 6192, museumsdienst@museumslandschaft-rodenberg.de). On the gallery there is a touchscreen station with music by the Rodenberg composer Johann Anton Coberg. |
