Trausnitz Castle

Trausnitz Castle in the valley is located on the southern edge of the municipality of Trausnitz in the district of Schwandorf in the Upper Palatinate. It is one of the most beautiful and best-preserved castles in Bavaria. The castle is picturesquely situated on a hill spur above the Pfreimd river.

The castle was presumably built in the mid-13th century by the Lords of Walthurn – ministeriales of the Counts of Ortenburg-Murach. It was first mentioned in a document in 1261. Around 1280, it came into the possession of the Wittelsbach family.

Trausnitz Castle became famous for the 28-month imprisonment of Frederick the Fair of Austria after the Battle of Mühldorf. From this battle between Louis the Bavarian and Frederick on the Ampfing Heath near Mühldorf on September 28, 1322, the Habsburg lost and was imprisoned in the castle. This battle also represents the last great knightly battle on German soil.

In 1305, the Wittelsbachs had granted the complex to their viztum Weichnand. Although he was not of noble birth, he enjoyed the highest favor, especially with Emperor Louis the Bavarian, which is shown, among other things, by the fact that the Emperor entrusted the imprisoned Frederick to his care.

After the viztum died without male descendants, the castle temporarily came into the joint possession of the Zenger – who had to share it with the viztum even before – Punzinger and Wiltinger, until it then passed solely to the Zenger.

From the mid-16th century, individual members of the Sparneck family can also be traced at Trausnitz Castle. After they had come to the Upper Palatinate through kinship ties, via the Erlbeck zu Trausnitz, following the destruction of their ancestral castles by the Swabian League, the family experienced another flourishing here until it died out in 1744.

In 1689, a fire caused great damage to the castle. In 1700, the new palace was built next to the castle. An inscription above the main gate of the palace, later the brewery, bore witness to this.

After lengthy negotiations, on June 12, 1714, the Hofmark along with the castle were acquired by the Barons of Quentel, hereditary administrators of Schwandorf. Through purchase from the estate, the property came into the ownership of the von Hannakam family and their son-in-law, Baron von Karg-Bebenburg, in 1763.

To resolve inheritance problems, the Barons of Karg-Bebenburg sold the castle to King Ludwig I of Bavaria by deed dated September 2, 1830. The Hofmark buildings and other properties were sold individually.

In 1825, a large part of the southeastern wing of the castle, which had been uninhabited since 1700, collapsed. In 1837, the royal government had the building, which had almost fallen into ruin, restored.