Franzhagen Castle
The Franzhagen Castle - also known as Franzgarten or Franzhof was a castle near the present-day Schulendorf in southern Schleswig-Holstein. Before its destruction in 1716 it was owned by the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg.
The castle was based on an older structure that may have originated in the Middle Ages. Under Mary of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel a grange was added in 1608 her husband Duke Francis II of Saxe-Lauenburg expanded it into a large castle with extensive gardens. The duke ran out of funds during the construction, so that, according to a local legend, the workers were left behind unpaid. Francis II lived in the castle until his death in 1619. After his death, it was inherited by his son-in-law Philip of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. After Philip's death, the castle passed his nephew, John Christian, whose son Christian Adolph founded the short-lived family branch named after the castle, the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Franzhagen line.
Early in the 18th Century, the castle had to be demolished, because it was too dilapidated. Nothing remains of the building itself; the only reminder of its existence is a street named Hofgraben, at the edge of the former castle district. Some of the furnishings of the chapel, found their way into the St. Mary's Church in neighbouring Büchen.Footnotes
