New hotel in Thuringia: demolition of the old castle is imminent!

New hotel in Thuringia: demolition of the old castle is imminent!

In Thuringia, plans are underway to build a new hotel in the Wartburg district, which will consist of 34 rooms and 60 beds in the first construction phase. The guest room on the ground floor can accommodate 115 guests. The new building will consist of two buildings connected in a U-shape, which are surrounded by an inner courtyard. This courtyard serves as both an entrance to the hotel and a lounge area for guests.

A roof terrace is also planned, which will be located on the connecting piece between the two parts of the building. The demolition of the former castle, which stands on the site of the new hotel, has been approved until March 2024. This historic half-timbered building, which has not undergone any maintenance in the last 38 years, will be demolished for safety reasons. Demolition is scheduled to begin in February or March 2024, taking into account the bats that live there. The design of the new hotel will no longer be closely based on the original castle, as the monument protection has been removed. A draft plan for the new building already exists, but it is not yet publicly known.

Further demolition projects in Germany

Another important demolition project is in Planegg near Munich, where the old castle restaurant, which has been on the trade route between Lake Starnberg and Munich since 1425, is being demolished. The building, which has existed in its current form since the 18th century, has been the target of demolition for several days now, as an excavator is tearing down the facade and trucks are transporting away the rubble.

A petition against the demolition was submitted to the Bavarian State Parliament on February 8, 2023 in order to review the decision. The environmental association Monument Network Bavaria has requested access to files from the Higher Monument Protection Authority in order to prevent the demolition. Critical voices, such as that of monument conservationist Florian Grüning, described the demolition as a loss for Planegg. The owner, Philipp von Hirsch, is planning follow-up buildings in the form of apartments.

The demolition permit was granted by the government of Upper Bavaria in early 2024, and the demolition is scheduled to be completed by April 15, 2024. Species protection requirements must be met, which is why Dorit Zimmermann from the Federal Nature Conservation Agency emphasizes that birds and bats must be removed from the building before it is demolished. The road to Starnberg has remained closed since October 2023 due to the risk of the historic facade collapsing. The owner also rejects an offered renovation grant of over one million euros as economically unreasonable.

The example of the hotel in Thuringia and the demolition of the castle restaurant in Planegg illustrate current developments in dealing with historical buildings and the challenges associated with them.