Rosenburg Castle

Rosenburg Castle is a mid-12th century Romanesque mansion sitting high above the Bavarian town of Riedenburg overlooking the blue Danube, around 110km north of Munich.

History of Rosenburg Castle

It’s technically known as a Höhenburg castle, from the German which roughly translates to ‘hill castle’. It was built by Bavarian noble family the Babonen in around 1150 or so and was bought in 1196 by Duke Ludwig I of Bavaria.

The castle changed hands many times in subsequent years and came under the stewardship of, amongst others, Emperor Louis IV, the Duchy of Bavaria-Munich, the Counts of Abensburg, and the Lords of Muggenthal.

Rosenburg was sacked by insurgents during the Peasants’ War in 1525, rebuilt 25 years later, and then destroyed again in the Thirty Years’ War around 1633. In 1703 it was conquered by the Austrians who used it as their army’s winter headquarters in 1745.

The majority of Rosenburg was designed in the Romanesque style aside from the dominating residential complex which is a fine example of South German Renaissance architecture.

Rosenburg Castle Today

Visitor highlights include the ground floor chapel which contains treasures such as wall paintings that date to around 1560.

Today, Rosenburg is a privately run falconry school known as the ‘Falkenhof’. There are daily falconry demonstrations and a Museum of Hunting and Falconry.

Getting to Rosenburg Castle

From the centre of Munich, the site is roughly an hour and a half drive via the A9 road. From the centre of Nuremberg, it’s an hour and 15 minutes via the A9.