Schloss Zwesten

Schloss Zwesten stands on the southern edge of Bad Zwesten in the Schwalm-Eder district of northern Hesse. It sits beside the Wälzebach stream, which flows through the southern part of the village. The building is a long, two-storey classical structure made of plastered timber framing. A shallow triangular pediment marks the centre of the front. In 1782 it was built as a gentleman’s residence by Wilhelm Treusch von Buttlar, the chief huntsman of Hesse-Kassel. The house became known as a Schloss after a classical porch with a balcony was added in 1915. It faces east across the Löwensteiner Grund and the Schwalm valley towards the Altenburg hill, which rises 433 metres above sea level. The site sits about 200 metres above sea level in the middle of a park that stretches southwards. Close by, at right angles to the main building, stands the Kavaliershaus, a roughly 200-year-old timber-framed structure that once housed servants and farm animals. Today the Schloss belongs to private owners and is used as a residential complex and dental clinic. The restored Kavaliershaus now contains a hotel with a wellness centre. The park around the buildings offers long views over the valley and towards the Altenburg. The classical lines of the house and the calm surroundings recall its origins as a hunting lodge of the 18th century.