Rüsselsheim Fortress
Hauptmann-Scheuermann-Weg 4, Rüsselsheim
Heinrich Böll (conversion / renovation)
2011 The castle of the Counts of Katzenelnbogen was converted into a fortress with ramparts, moats and five bulwarks at the end of the 15th century. Destroyed in the Palatinate War of Succession in 1688, its ruins were used at times as a prison, military hospital and youth hostel. It was not until the 1950s that it became the property of the city and was opened to the public. In the 1970s, the south wing of the fortress was called
City history museum expanded and a brutalist wing added. After further restorations in line with listed buildings in the 1990s, further renovation measures were required
In 2011, this was the occasion to redesign the fortress from scratch. It starts with a new main staircase, which stands freely in the room as a sculptural form with a closed parapet and guides visitors through the house. The expansion was reduced to a material canon that included the historic quarry stone masonry
combined with a floor made of oak and the new staircase made of steel. The previously suspended roof space was opened and a skylight strip brings daylight into the house. Extract from the architecture guide "Metropolitan Region Frankfurt Rhein-Main", DOM publishers, Anna Scheuermann, Andrea Schwappach, Paul-Martin Lied
Unfortunately, you cannot always visit the inner part of the fortress. Only a nice coffee in the interior is always open. Unfortunately, the museum is not always open. I was there on a Sunday and thought it was a shame that it was closed on the weekends.