Idstein Castle

Idstein Castle, later the Renaissance style Schloss Idstein, is located in Idstein in the county of Rheingau-Taunus, Germany. The hill castle was the residenz of Nassau-Idstein. The castle's Witches' Tower is one of the town's oldest buildings and a substantial local landmark.HistoryThe original castle of Idstein was built around 1170 on a rocky ridge in the centre of the Old Town. Within the inner bailey, only the bergfried, the old district courthouse, the 15th century gatehouse and the palas have survived from the castle.In the early 17th century, during the time of Prince George Augustus Samuel of Nassau-Idstein, a Renaissance style schloss was built on the site of the outer ward. Its Baroque interior was completed around 1714. The architect was Maximilian von Welsch, the stucco work, especially in the so-called Emperor Chamber (Kaisergemach), was carried out by Carlo Maria Pozzi. The ceiling paintings and other paintings were by Valentin David Albrecht and Luca Antonio Colomba.