Top 16 Castles around Schmidgaden

Moos Castle Moos was the seat of the noble family of Moos. Otto von Moß is mentioned as a witness in documents in 1121, Hermann von Moße in 1126, Otto von Mose in 1166, and Friedrich Mosaer in 1190. The service in which this family served and their coat of arms are unknown. Presumably, there was no stone manor at that time, but rather a motte-and-bailey castle built on a hill. The Moos family appears until the end of the 12th century, after which their trail disappears. In the first half of the 14th century, Moos was already a Hofmark (a type of manor). The Nortweiner family, who were wealthy landowners in the area, are mentioned as its owners. In the mid-15th century, Moos came into the possession of Jörg Kastner; the subsequent ownership history is unclear. The estate moved to the center of Bavarian history when Elector Maximilian had the city of Amberg surrendered to him at Moos Castle on October 8, 1621, after the Battle of White Mountain. Thus, the estate reverted from the Electorate of the Palatinate to Bavaria. Due to heavy debt, the estate passed to the government in Amberg, and various owners followed. In 1904, all the property belonging to the castle was demolished. A year later, Leonhard Bernreuther acquired the castle and renovated it in exemplary fashion. It then passed to the Uwe Herrmann family. The newly renovated castle is a three-story solid building with a hipped roof, dormer windows, and simple stucco detailing. The building dates back to the Late Gothic period; it may have previously been a fortified house. In 1738, it was rebuilt with the exception of the four main walls. Until the reconstruction, it was a defensive structure with one-meter-thick walls on the ground floor and narrow slits instead of windows. Two windows remain on the east side. There, on the first floor, is an exposed Late Gothic window with a straight lintel and dressed stonework, as well as a latrine bay window. A ring wall with numerous keyhole-shaped loopholes hewn from dressed stone and four projecting corner towers from the first construction phase surrounds the castle. It is approximately three meters high and 80 cm thick. The tall spires were added during the last renovation (1982–1984). The former moat can still be seen as a strip of barren land on the south and east sides. Access to the complex is from the north; a bridge once stood here, the inner section of which could be raised. Source: Excerpts from www.wikipedia.de

Filial Church of St. John the Baptist The church as we see it today is the result of the new building based on a castle chapel from around 1250, some of whose substance has been preserved or reused. Today's St. John's Church was built on behalf of the Electoral Court Chamberlain, Johann Joseph von Dyer, by Ignaz Anton Gunezrhainer and his stepfather Johann Mayr, both master masons in Munich. 300 years ago, from May 1721, Munich craftsmen were on site here. The castle was also built by the Gunezrhainer workshop, which is why all the buildings form a self-contained ensemble. The interior shows a rare conical narrowing from the nave to the end of the choir, which is due to the previous building. In the Apis, the high altar is impressive: the large painting by Johann Adam Müller depicts the baptism of Jesus by John. It is elaborately framed with a wide architectural and picture frame and additionally surrounded by a floor-to-ceiling blue curtain with gold fringes in stucco work. Two powerful putti hold up this curtain and thus open up the view of the Theatrum Sacrum. Cuddled up to the tabernacle, four seraphim stand and praise the divine glory, present in the Eucharist, while the life-size sculptures of Abraham and Moses represent God's eternal covenant with his people. The church was extensively renovated in 1911. The recently completed renovation (between 2016 and 2020) restored the 1911 colors to the altar tables and pulpit. For the room shell, i.e. the wall design with stucco, pilasters and wood paneling, the color scheme from the period of construction from the restoration-supervised findings was decisive. The restoration of the stone steps and the floor also followed the period of construction findings. The figural decorations were cleaned. The necessary new pieces were designed by the Munich architect Franz Steinberger Source: www.pfarrei-theuern-eb-pi.de

Ebermannsdorf Castle The local noble family of Ebersdorf has been documented here since the early 12th century. They lived in the Eberburg. In 1480, Jakob Kemnather zu Ebermannsdorf is mentioned with the "lower seat" as a fief of his sister Agnes, widow of Jakob Kemnather zu Ebermannsdorf. A new seat had therefore already been built next to the old castle at that time. The current castle is, as the year "1723" shows, a baroque building from the early 18th century. It was built under the manor owner Johann Josef von Dyrr using the old walls according to plans by Ignaz Anton Gunetzrhainer. It is an elongated two-storey solid building with a hipped roof, a central projection with a mansard roof. A transverse building with a mansard roof and a stair tower with a hipped roof is aligned towards the castle church. The castle building has a plaster structure. The complex is closed off by a castle wall, also with plasterwork, basket-arch gates and a niche figure. The castle was renovated in 1977/78. Since 1963, the castle has been owned by a branch of the Barons von Eyb family. The complex also includes the former castle church, now the branch church of St. John the Baptist, which was also built in 1721-23 according to plans by Ignaz Anton Gunetzrhainer. It is a hall building with a mansard hip roof and a recessed tower covered by a tower cap. It also has a segmental gable portal and a plasterwork structure. The church was renovated inside and out in 2018-2020. A special feature is the historic organ from the 19th century, which is attributed to Friedrich Specht. Source: Excerpts from www.wikipedia.de

Today, Schwarzenfeld Castle is a conference and recreation hotel with a beautiful park on the banks of the Naab.

The current castle is a baroque building from the early 18th century. It was built using the old walls according to plans by Ignaz Anton Gunetzrhainer. It is an elongated two-storey solid building with a hipped roof, a central projection with a mansard roof. A transverse building with a mansard roof and a stair tower is aligned towards the castle church. The complex is enclosed by a castle wall. The castle was renovated in 1977/78. The complex also includes the former castle church, now the branch church of St. John the Baptist, which was also built from 1721 to 1723 according to plans by Ignaz Anton Gunetzrhainer. It is a hall building with a mansard hipped roof and a recessed tower covered by a tower cap. The church was renovated from 2018 to 2020. A special feature is the historic organ from the 19th century.

Wernberg Castle The earliest documented mention of the castle "Werdenberch", which was founded by the Landgraves of Leuchtenberg, dates back to 1280, when the castle came into the possession of Konrad von Paulsdorf. The following year, his daughter brought Wernberg into the possession of the Nothaft family through marriage, who lived here until the 16th century. In 1367, Heinrich I Nothaft gave his free Wernberg Castle to the Kingdom of Bohemia as a fief. In 1509, Georg, Kaspar, Heinrich, Hans and Bernhard Nothaft sold Wernberg Castle to Georg Wispeck von Velburg. In 1530, Johann IV, Landgrave of Leuchtenberg, acquired the castle, which came to the Electorate of Bavaria when the Leuchtenberg family died out in 1647 and became the seat of the custodianship for the Upper Palatinate from 1704 to 1803. During the Thirty Years' War, Wernberg Castle was occupied and plundered by Mansfeld troops in 1621, Swedish troops in 1634, and then imperial troops. At the end of the war, the castle was in a desolate state. From 1856/57 to 1859, the castle served as a forced labor house and from 1861 as a "rescue center for fallen women and neglected girls." In 1918, Wernberg passed to Andreas Graf Schall-Riacour, who rented it out as a home for asylum seekers. From 1804, Wernberg temporarily degenerated into a penal institution. In 1992, the municipality, the state, and Klaus Conrad, owner of the Conrad electronics group, raised a total of 27 million DM to fundamentally renovate the partially ruined castle. First, the castle became a modern hotel and conference center with Michelin-star cuisine, then a private clinic in 2019. Since then, it has been closed to visitors. This means that a unique medieval building is unfortunately hidden from the public. The Wernberg Castle, built in the middle of the 13th century, included the mighty square keep, the palace in the north and the ring wall. The Nothafts increased the density of the buildings and built, among other things, the castle chapel of St. George, which was consecrated in 1401 and then remodeled in the Baroque style in 1712. The south wing was built in 1478, and the north wing was remodeled at the same time. The front moat and the castle gate, which was fortified by a drawbridge, probably also date from this period. The inner courtyard with its two-storey arcades and the stair tower clearly exudes the Renaissance style. In 1731, further repairs were necessary. In 1920, under Andreas Graf Schall-Riacour, the south wing was rebuilt, but it partially burned down in 1942. Source: www.hdbg.eu/burgen/detail/burg-wernberg/98

Schwarzenfeld Castle The Schwarzenfeld seat was built and inhabited by Conrad Pullenhofer in 1372, before it became the property of the Plankenfelser noble family in 1389. They expanded the rather inconspicuous building and added four towers in the 15th century. In the 1580s, the Teuffel von Pirkensee family bought Schwarzenfeld. During the Thirty Years' War, the castle and the town were devastated. The castle's four towers were probably destroyed and have not been rebuilt since. From 1654, the imperial colonel Peter Pischer and his family were lords of Schwarzenfeld. In 1686, the baronial von Schneidau family took over Schwarzenfeld as a manor. In 1707, a fire destroyed the castle and the surrounding buildings, so that it had to be completely rebuilt elsewhere. A new building, called the "Plankenfelser Schlössl", was built on the foundations of the old castle. It was adapted to the period with stepped gables. In 1717, Schwarzenfeld was owned by the von Wildenau family, and in 1794 the property was purchased by the Counts of Holnstein. At the beginning of the 19th century, the main building was given its current shape by removing the stepped gables in favor of a hipped roof. Two small towers with onion tops were also added. In 1890 and 1892, Maximilian von Holnstein had the castle extended by Julius Hofmann to include the annex and the two towers in the style of the then popular historicist architectural style. At times, up to 160 workers were involved in the reconstruction, which gave the castle its final appearance. Surrounding buildings were also demolished to provide a view of the castle. Shortly after its completion, Count von Holnstein used the castle as a retirement home. He went blind in 1893 and died in the castle on February 1, 1895. After the Holnstein family moved out in 1907, the castle remained unused for a long time, except for short-term leases. The market acquired the castle in 1934, and after several changes of ownership, the main building of the castle burned down on the night of June 25, 1982 and lay abandoned for many years. In 1995, it was sold to private individuals Christine and Hans Dobler from Nabburg. They had the castle completely gutted, renovated and converted into a conference hotel, which opened in 1996 and is called "Hotel Schloß Schwarzenfeld". Source: Excerpts from www.wikipedia.de

The market square is really beautiful and you can easily start a walk around and to the castle here!