Maurach Castle

Maurach Castle is a Baroque building complex located below the Birnau pilgrimage church directly on the shore of Lake Constance near Uhldingen-Mühlhofen. The term "castle" is misleading, as it is not a noble residence, but rather utility buildings (stables) of the former Imperial Abbey of Salem.

The first farm buildings at this location were first mentioned in a document in 1155. They served as a manor (grange) and a ship landing for Salem Monastery. The expansion to its current representative appearance took place after 1722 under Salem Abbot Stephan I Jung. After the expansion, the manor included a residential wing, a chapel, farm buildings, and a garden. The staff who cultivated the surrounding vineyards also lived there. Many abbots preferred Maurach as a summer residence to Salem, which was located inland.

The monastery used the buildings as a transshipment point for goods that were delivered or picked up directly by ship. From Maurach, the so-called "Prelates' Path" led to Salem, which was used not only by the abbots but also for transporting goods. Maurach played an important role in the economic life of the abbey, as no road tolls had to be paid here for the transport of goods to the lake.

Due to the secularization of the monastery in 1804, the buildings fell to the Margraviate of Baden. In 1919, they were purchased by the Cistercians of the Bregenz Territorial Abbey of Wettingen-Mehrerau together with the Birnau pilgrimage church.

After a fire in February 1979, the "castle" was sold to L-Bank and structurally modernized and expanded from 1985 to 1992 by the Karlsruhe architect Heinz Mohl. Since then, the premises have been rented out for conferences and training events.