Mörnsheim Castle (Ruin)

Mörnsheim Castle, also known as Staffelburg, is a ruined castle on the Schlossberg at about 510 meters above sea level, overlooking the Gailach Valley south of the municipality of Mörnsheim in the Bavarian district of Eichstätt.

The origins of the hilltop castle presumably date back to the 10th century, attributed to the Lords of Mörnsheim. The castle was first mentioned in 1225, when Bishop Heinrich I von Zipplingen had a massive keep made of ashlar blocks erected as an impregnable center on the highest point of the castle site between 1225 and 1228. In 1281, the castle was explicitly referred to as "castrum Mornsheim". Afterwards, Bishop Konrad II von Pfeffenhausen had it walled, and subsequently Bishop Friedrich IV, Count of Oettingen, reinforced various buildings and walls. He expanded the castle with a zwinger, repaired it all around, and presumably founded the outer bailey. During his tenure as Bishop of Eichstätt, Albrecht II von Hohenrechberg had a wide and deep neck ditch excavated on the southeast side and a curtain wall with towers and battlements, as well as a mighty outer rampart, built. Later, Johann III von Eych had a large residential building erected in the south corner of the main castle.

After 1634, the castle began to decay and was partially demolished in 1760. From 1980 onwards, stabilization measures took place. Today, remnants of the curtain wall and the zwinger wall, and a barrel-vaulted room of the castle chapel of St. Afra are still preserved from the former castle complex.