In 1982, Robert Keller planned to set up a simple clothes dryer in his garden at 11 Schlossgasse. By chance, however, he discovered that large stone blocks lay beneath the surface at the spot he had chosen. He realised that these might be the remains of Merlau Schloss, and he had to investigate. The clothes horse would have to wait.

In the State Archives in Darmstadt, he found a plan of the Schloss dating from 1772, and yes, it was clear that part of the Schloss lay beneath his garden. Robert and his wife Elisabeth began digging. Eventually, they uncovered the first foundation stone a metre below the surface.

They had no idea that their work had only just begun. In total, the excavations took two years before they had uncovered part of the north-western portico. They informed Manfred Blechschmidt, the district’s heritage conservation officer, about their work, and he arranged for it to be recorded in the official records. Robert was advised not to carry out any further excavations here, but to take measures to preserve what had already been found. His research, based partly on similar remains found at Versaille, suggest that the remains represent part of the toilets of the old Schloss.

Naturally,the excavated walls of the old Schloss attracted a great deal of interest during the celebrations marking the 800th anniversary of the founding of Merlau. That year, the site drew around 1,000 visitors.

The property is now privately owned by Mr Michael Kämmer, who is responsible for the renovation and upkeep of this last remaining vestige of the Schloss. Visitors to the site are welcome and need only call Mr Kämmer on 0152 58767969 to arrange a visit.