Schloss Ketschendorf

Schloss Ketschendorf is a Gothic Revival residence, located in Ketschendorf, at the foot of the Buchberg, in the town of Coburg, in the state of Bavaria, Germany.Built at the beginning of the 19th century, the original Schloss of the Baroness von Stolzenau was surrounded by a large park. The current structure was built in 1868/9 following the demolition of the earlier one. It never served as a residence for a ruling prince or member of the nobility. After 1956 it was used as a youth hostel, which was closed on 1 December 2010. Since then the building has been vacant.HistoryOriginal buildingKeczendorff, as Ketschendorf was first known around 900 years ago, was an undefended village outside the city walls of Coburg on the western slope of the Buchberg. The few inhabitants suffered greatly under the Hussite invasions in 1430 and the German Peasants' War in 1525. Twice, in 1567 and 1626, the plague affected the village.In 1632, during the siege of the Veste Coburg, General Wallenstein moved his personal quarters to Ketschendorf. Only two years later, during another siege in 1634/5 the Imperial Colonel Schlitz destroyed the whole village with his Croats and reconstruction started in earnest only in 1657.In 1802, the Duchess Augusta, wife of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, bought the properties on which the Schloss and the park are located today. In 1804 she had a summer palace in the Empire style built.