The history of the building begins with the mariage of Wilhelm Ernst Friedrich von Kerssenbrock and Louise Ernestine Henriette von Bülow, the heiress of the Helmsdorf estate. Between 1801 and 1805, the Castle was built for their newly established family. It was a modern home designed in the neoclassical style, blending beautifully into the surrounding landscape. In 1872, Bernhard Simon, the son of Wilhelm Ernst Friedrich von Kerssenbrock, passed away without a male heir. As a result, the property was inherited in 1878 by Baron Bernhard von Krosigk. He lived in the many rooms of the castle with his wife and two children, while the servants were accommodated in the attic chambers. In 1910, Baron von Krosigk commissioned the renowned reform architect Paul Schultze-Naumburg to modernize the castle and expand it by a side wing.
After the expropriation and land reform of 1945, the estate was repurposed as a retirement home and later became the “Martha Brautzsch” nursing home. In September 1994, the care facility relocated to the “Alte Schäferei” care center in Gerbstedt, leaving the castle vacant. Nowadays the association “Schloss Henriette-Helmsdorf” is dedicated to preserving this historic building and its surroundings. The building is surveilled heavily and completely boarded up. It can only be visited via official means.
