Rauenstein Castle is a castle complex in the Rauenstein district of the town of Pockau-Lengefeld (Erzgebirge). The complex was used to monitor the Flöha crossing.
The castle now appears to be privately owned and can no longer be easily entered. In the past, people could go there for a spa treatment.
The castle was first mentioned in 1323, but archaeological research suggests that it was first built around 1200. The first lords of Rauenstein were the Schellenbergers. After several changes of ruler, the castle became the property of the Electorate of Saxony in 1567. The Rauenstein office that had been established was added to Wolkenstein in 1596. Major structural changes were made around 1630. The road tunnel also dates from this time. From 1651 to 1743, the castle was leased to the von Römer family, who had become very wealthy in the Schneeberg area through silver mining. The owners Christian August Hähnel, who had acquired Rauenstein in 1816, his nephew Wolfgang Freiherr von Herder (grandson of the poet Johann Gottfried Herder and owner from 1843 to 1853) and his cousin Wilhelm Freiherr von Herder were members of the Saxon state parliament. The next owner, Gottfried Freiherr von Herder, was a German conservative member of the Reichstag from 1893 to 1898. During the Second World War, valuable books from Leipzig were stored there, which were then taken to the Soviet Union after the war.
After being expropriated as part of the land reform in 1945, the castle served as a children's convalescent home and has been in the family ownership of the Barons von Herder since 1999 after being bought back by the district of Mittleres Erzgebirge. The current owner is Carl Wilhelm von Herder (* 1926), the great-great-great-grandson of the poet Johann Gottfried von Herder. The castle can only be viewed from the outside.