Rotenburg

Rotenburg lies on the Fulda beneath the wooded hills of northern Hesse. Its name recalls Rodenberg Castle, built by the landgraves of Thuringia above the river. A settlement had grown around an earlier castle in the valley, and the town on the Fulda's left bank was recorded in 1248. It became Hessian after the Thuringian-Hessian War of Succession in 1264.

A new residence was built in 1470, only to burn with the old town eight years later. From 1627 Rotenburg was the seat of the landgraves of Hesse-Rotenburg, a branch of the Hessian family. During the Thirty Years' War, soldiers burned the town and its town hall in 1637. The local ruling line continued until 1834, long after the town and its palace had been rebuilt.