Schwarzenau site - view of the manor house
The Schwarzenau manor house has an eventful history. In the years around 1700, the then ruling Count Henrich Albrecht zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein moved his court from Laasphe to Schwarzenau. Influenced by his parental home, he made the place a center of pietistic piety and religious tolerance by allowing many religious refugees to move to the Grafschaft.
The manor house was extended in 1788. It also served the Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein family as a summer residence, widow's residence and hunting lodge. The farm buildings along the road, which date back to the early 18th century, also belong to the complex directly on the Eder. In between is a park with mighty old trees.
The estate is now privately owned by Bernhart Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein. The family history of this widely ramified princely house can be traced back to the 12th century. Today, the ancestral seat is Wittgenstein Castle near Bad Laasphe.