Altes Schloß

Altes Schloß forms part of the Höchster Schloß complex in Frankfurt, once a residence for officials of the Mainz archbishopric. A Gothic toll castle once occupied this site. The surviving keep received a Baroque cap in 1681, giving the tower its distinctive silhouette. A storm bell from 1475 rests in a niche within the castle wall. The complex includes Renaissance work from 1586, while troops burned the main castle during the Thirty Years’ War. Captain Zuckschwerdt appears in the castle’s legend. After the war, builders reused the stones for Bolongaro Palace in 1772, and ownership later passed through Nassau and Prussia. Adolf von Brünings’ family bought the deteriorating complex in 1908. They renovated the buildings and opened the park to the public. American forces occupied both sections after World War II. From July 1945, the American Forces Network broadcast from the occupied castle complex. Hoechst AG bought the castle in 1961. The Altes Schloß then housed the Museum of Höchst History and Hoechst AG’s company museum. The foundation’s DenkmalAkademie occupies its office rooms. Former museum rooms are being repurposed for exhibitions, while the courtyard, terrace, and moat park remain part of the complex.