Schloss Stedten

Schloss Stedten was a Baroque palace in the Erfurt district of Bischleben-Stedten, built between 1735 and 1948. It stood on the site of an older water castle, replacing it for Christoph Dietrich Keller after he acquired the estate. The palace became a centre for culture and politics when his son, Dorotheus Ludwig Christoph Graf von Keller, hosted figures like Christoph Wieland and Johann Wolfgang Goethe. In 1775 Goethe read from his Urfaust in the palace’s rooms. The estate also played a role in railway history when Gustav Graf von Keller became the first director of the Thüringer Eisenbahn. The palace witnessed turbulent times in the 20th century. During the Second World War, it sheltered up to 130 refugees from eastern regions. After the war, the Soviet military administration’s land reform led to the von Kellers’ expulsion and the palace’s demolition in 1948. Many of its cultural treasures, including paintings and archives dating back to the 16th century, were lost or scattered. Local citizens, cultural figures and refugees protested against the demolition, but their efforts could not prevent it. Today, only traces remain of Schloss Stedten, but its memory is preserved by the „Freundeskreis Schloss Stedten e. V.“ founded in 1999. The estate’s history is documented in books and archives, including the Gutsarchiv Stedten now held by the Erfurt city archive. Visitors can still see the site where the palace once stood, near the village of Stedten. The surrounding area, once part of the estate’s grounds, offers quiet walks in the countryside. The story of Schloss Stedten reminds visitors of the palace’s former importance and its dramatic end.