The baroque Dagstuhl castle complex is both an example of princely splendor in the countryside in the 18th century as well as of changing times and new functions within historic walls. When Maria Sidonia von Sötern married Count Notger Wilhelm von Katzenstein in 1680, the Dagstuhl estate came into the possession of the Counts of Oettingen-Baldern from what is now Baden-Württemberg. Their son Kraft Anton became heavily indebted due to the expansion of the Hohenbaldern ancestral seat and tried in vain to sell his Hochwald dominion.
His son, Count Joseph Anton von Oettingen-Sötern, on the other hand, deepened his ties to the Dagstuhl estate and had a lasting influence on the fortunes of Wadern. Before he finally moved his court here in 1763, he had Dagstuhl Castle built from 1760 to 1762 as a prestigious new manor house. In addition to the manor house, the new complex included a castle chapel, a baroque castle garden and the first brewery in the manor.
From count's castle to research center
With the flight of the count's family in 1792 and the invasion of French revolutionary troops, the count's time came to an end and the Dagstuhl estate became French state property. In 1806, Baron Wilhelm Albert de Lasalle von Louisenthal bought the now deserted Dagstuhl Castle and made it the new family seat.
In 1957, Franciscan Sisters of the Third Order took over the castle complex and founded a retirement home here, which was later continued by the Franciscan Sisters of Waldbreitbach.
In 1989, the building became the property of the Saarland, which established the “Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz Center for Informatics (LZI)” here.
Religious art and colorful flowers
The research center itself is not open to the public, but there is also plenty to discover in the area surrounding the facility: The baroque castle chapel, whose walls were richly painted with religious motifs by the 19th century artist Octavie de Lasalle von Louisenthal, is particularly impressive. In an adjoining room of the chapel is Octavie's famous Stations of the Cross for the Lockweiler parish church.
Other sights include the crypt of the De Lasalle family of Louisenthal and the picturesque castle garden, which is part of the Franco-German network “Gardens without Borders”. Worth seeing are the plant obelisks covered with roses and clematis in the center of the perennial beds, which are symmetrically arranged on two levels and bordered by hedges.
Info
The chapel is open daily from 10 am to 4 pm. Free guided tours of the chapel and Stations of the Cross take place on the first Sunday of every month between 3 and 5 pm. Contact for guided tours or additional opening hours is the Wadern Tourist Information Office
