Margrave Castle

General Information:

The Castle Square is characterized by the Margrave Castle where today the City Historical Museum and the Hirsmüller Photography Museum are housed. A cabaret stage for cultural events is located in the cellar of the castle as well.

The history of the castle goes back to an estate, a property, of the brothers Hugo and Berthold von Immendingen who sold it to the knight Dietrich von Keppenbach in 1230. Keppenbach’s widow, Bertha von Alzenach, signed the property over to the Monestary Tennenbach as a gift in 1250. After changing ownership several times, the estate was acquired by the Margrave Jacob III of Baden-Hachberg in 1588 and rebuilt into a residential castle.

On January 1, 1590 Jacob III granted Emmendingen city rights. Jacob III converted to Catholicism on July 15, 1590. He became victim to arsenic poisoning and died on August 17, 1590 in the Margrave Castle. After Jacob’s death, the castle became the seat for the margrave’s governors and castellans.

The city of Emmendingen purchased the castle in 1833 and established a hospital here. After the hospital was moved to its new quarters in 1908, the Margrave Castle was completely renovated in 1919/20 and the historical artifacts and collections of the city were stored here.