Truppach Castle

Truppach Castle is a castle complex in the Truppach district of the municipality of Mistelgau in the Bavarian district of Bayreuth.

The Truppach family is documented as early as 1059 (as de Trubaha). They are considered followers of the Walpoten and later formed a lower noble class of imperial free ministerials. In the land book of the Bayreuth office from 1499, two noble seats are named for the small town of Truppach: one belonged to the von Aufseß family, the other demonstrably since 1380 to the von Truppach family. The latter was abandoned shortly after, and Klaus von Truppach moved to Alladorf. The von Truppach family belonged to the Imperial Knighthood and was organized in the Gebürg Knight Canton. The family died out in 1550.

It is also known that as early as 1380, the moated castle of Truppach, named after the Truppach stream, was owned by Conrad the Elder of Christanz from the House of Groß.

The Fateful Year 1523

In the middle of the 16th century, the robber knight Hans Thomas von Absberg abducted merchants from imperial cities in Franconia and Swabia on their trade journeys and demanded a high ransom for their release. To reduce the growing danger of being caught by troops of the Swabian League, he sought allies who would support him in his raids and hide his prisoners in their castles when in danger. Wolf Heinrich von Aufseß was also among them. In 1523, the League sent its troops to raze a total of 23 robber nests to the ground. The League's troops, consisting of 10,000 foot soldiers and 1,000 horsemen, carried 100 cannons, 30 arquebuses, and 900 hundredweight of gunpowder as armament. On July 4, they reached Truppach Castle and blew it up to prevent the return of the Truppach family.

The Centuries After

With the help of the Bishop of Bamberg, who approved the timber, the castle could be rebuilt shortly after. Friedrich von Vietinghoff acquired the castle in 1792 and had some minor alterations made. In 1830, it fell into the hands of the von Aufseß family, who, however, sold it ten years later to Johann Georg Brey. Nothing is known about the further history of the castle, as a later owner burned all records for unexplained reasons. The castle is currently in private ownership. The ground floor has been modernized and is inhabited. The staircase and the first floor are still largely in their original but uninhabitable condition; the attic is partially renovated and also uninhabited.