Our History

Disaffected crusaders founded a community in the Carmel Mountains around the middle of the 12th century in Palestine in the tradition of desert hermits. But the advance of the Saracens forced the young Carmelite order to flee back to Europe. In 1262 they were invited by Count Heinrich I to settle in Kassel, bought a house from the Jewess Rachel, and in 1298 commenced to build the Brethren Church and Monastery – today’s Renthof and where our hotel is located.

The Court School was subsequently converted into an Academy for Knights.

Picture: A historical report on the Academy for Knights in a magazine published in 1918

Since the second half of the 17th century, the building complex, which is now called Renthof, accommodated several Hessian higher authorities and Court of Law as an extension of the adjoining office building on the Fulda. 


Picture: Land Register photographs ca, 1898 – Present-day hotel entrance

In 1995, the “Foundation of the Old Brethren Church” renovated the early-Gothic period church after it was abandoned by the parish in 1970 and had became increasingly dilapidated. Since then it has serves as a special event venue administered by Rainer Holzhauer and the Grischäfer catering business.