Richthofen Castle - Denver, Colorado
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boB B giB
N 39° 44.112 W 104° 54.390
13S E 508011 N 4398371
A castle built in Colorado by the uncle of the infamous Red Baron.
Waymark Code: WM80J8
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 01/03/2010
Views: 6
From the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties: (
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Completed in 1887, the 21-room residence was built on the prairie fifteen miles east of downtown Denver by real estate promoter Baron Walter von Richthofen as a show home for his Montclair development. Originally fortress-like in style, additions and modifications designed by Maurice Biscoe in 1910 and Jules J.B. Benedict in 1924, resulted in an English Tudor appearance. The walls, towers and parapet are of Castle Rock rhyolite, and the estate is contained within an acre of walled gardens.
From The Free Library: (
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Undaunted, Richthofen proceeded with the five-year construction of his castle on a 320-acre lot in Montclair, a Denver suburb he helped develop. Referred to within the family as Louiseburgh, after his second wife, the manor house was and remains generally known as Richthofen Castle. The gray, crenellated 21-room mansion featured towers, a quaint stone bridge over a moat and a landscaped garden stocked with deer, antelope and wild canaries. The superb timing of his real estate enterprises in East Denver and Montclair allowed Richthofen to keep afloat and bask in some luxury despite the hit he took when the cattle business failed due to the climate. Walter and Louise moved into the castle in 1887 and lived there happily ever after--for three years.
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The story goes that the Baroness didn't care for the look of the prairie around the castle, so the Baron had many trees planted on and around the estate. Which is why it is now difficult to see and photograph the castle during the greener months and not much easier during the winter.