Post #4, 27 May 2020:
Outside the German city of Darmstadt, in the vicinity of Mühltal sits the Dippelshof estate.
Today, Dippelshof is a posh hotel, restaurant, and golf resort catering to those who want to get away from the city. It sits in a quiet, pastoral setting and is a popular site for weddings and other celebrations.
But, over its 700-year existence, the estate has had quite a history.
Once thought to belong to Johan Conrad Dippel (1673-1734), the alchemist and theologian mysteriously tied to the legend of Frankenstein, Dippelshof actually belonged to his brother, Johann Albert Dippel.
Johann Albert acquired the estate in the early 1700s, intending to live there and farm the land. He only owned it for a short time.
It is a short drive between Dippelshof and Castle Frankenstein, where Johann Conrad lived. This is a map view of the area, taken from Google Maps.
In December 2004, my wife and I, along with my parents made a trip to Dippelshof, and to Castle Frankenstein. Although I've not yet traced any of my lineage to the Johann Conrad Dippel line, it is still very intriguing to learn about this connection with my family name.
During our time at the estate, we had a very nice dinner; it appeared we were the only guests in the facility. Here's a couple pictures of our bottle of wine, imprinted with the Dippelshof label.
Wine bottle from Dippelshof restaurant.
Here we are after dinner, in front of the hotel marquee.
This is a picture of the resort shortly after we arrived.
The restaurant/hotel offered little brochures (folded up about the size of a business card), with glimpses of the facility and a small map. It was so nice to find this countryside resort, spend a little time there, and imagine all the fireside stories that took place here, and at the nearby Frankenstein castle. I hope to return again.
