Schwertzellscher Burgsitz

The Schwertzellscher Burgsitz stands in the centre of Schrecksbach, a village in the Schwalm-Eder district of northern Hesse. Once a small fortified manor, it occupied the site now taken by the village community centre. The building still contains fragments of the old walls, silent reminders of its past. The estate once measured 267 Kassel acres of arable land, 160 acres of meadow and 468 acres of woodland. By 1885 the estate lands had shrunk to 221 hectares, split between 71 hectares of fields, 37 hectares of meadow and 11 hectares of woodland. The Schwertzells, local nobles, controlled this territory for centuries before the manor disappeared. Visitors today find the modern community centre built over the foundations. Inside, sections of medieval masonry remain visible in the cellars and ground floor. Outside, the quiet lanes of Schrecksbach lead past half-timbered houses and open fields that once belonged to the Burgsitz. The village church stands nearby, its graveyard holding tombstones of the Schwertzell family.