Top 15 Castles around Gnotzheim

A great destination for an outing - both the beautiful Spielberg Castle and the sculpture park. Especially beautiful in the evening atmosphere with a great view of the Altmühlsee and the Hesselberg.

Spielberg Castle houses an exhibition of sculptures by the artist and sculptor Ernst Steinacker; many of his sculptures can be viewed in and outside the castle and also in the lovely inner courtyard.

Very beautiful castle with many works of art

Extensive information at https://www.dennenlohe.de

The palace chapel dedicated to Saint Wolfgang was built in 1490 by Johann von Leonrod. Next to the tower, a depiction of Christ and the year 1497 commemorate the construction. Next to it is the coat of arms of Baron von Süsskind, who had the nave and the tower modified in a neo-Gothic style in 1868. Inside, the chapel was painted with Gothic tracery and stencil painting + completely renovated in the years 1994 to 2002 with the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments. Source: https://www.dennenlohe.de/de/schloss/schlosskapelle.html

Spielberg Castle belonged to the castle system of the Counts of Truhendingen in the 12th and 13th centuries. After their extinction, it came to the Counts of Oettingen in 1363 and later became the headquarters of the Oettingen-Spielberg line, which was ruled in 1734. The impressive, ring-shaped complex from around 1400 was rebuilt several times, most recently by the Steinacker family of artists, who took over Spielberg Castle in 1983 and built a museum for contemporary art.

In the 12th century, Marquard Spet de Steinenhart, who was named as a witness in a document in 1120, probably built the castle above the village of Steinhart and in 1130 a "Bertholdus Späth, nobilis de Steinhart" was mentioned. Further mentions of the Spete took place in 1167 with Heinrich Spet and Bertold Spet 1180-1183. From 1282 the Lords of Spet called themselves Spete von Steinhart (the "late von Steinhart"). In 1282 the Spetsche property was divided into two lines, with part coming to Faimingen an der Donau, today a part of the town of Lauingen "Old Castle" destroyed in the war for the Eichstätt fiefdom and not rebuilt. The Jewish cemetery has been located on the castle hill of the abandoned castle with a ring-shaped moat, the Burgstall Steinhart, also known as the Judenbuck, since the 18th century. After Herman Spet received permission to build a new fortress in Steinhart in 1328, the castle stable became strategically more favorable The new Steinhart Castle was built, today also called the "Old Castle". After 1339, the castle changed hands and came to the Counts of Öttingen, who sold the property to the von Gundelsheim family in 1359. After the castle was already in poor structural condition in 1532 , it changed hands and was probably destroyed in 1634 during the Thirty Years' War. The ruins have been privately owned since 1971. Significant remnants of the enclosing walls of the former rectangular castle complex with an outer bailey on a trapezoidal ground plan are still preserved, with hump ashlars with notched edges at the corners. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burg_Steinhart

In the 12th century, Marquard Spet de Steinenhart, who was named as a witness in a document in 1120, probably built the castle above the village of Steinhart and in 1130 a "Bertholdus Späth, nobilis de Steinhart" was mentioned. Further mentions of the Spete took place in 1167 with Heinrich Spet and Bertold Spet 1180-1183. From 1282 the lords of Spet called themselves Spete von Steinhart (the "late von Steinhart"). In 1282, the Spetsche property was divided into two lines, with part going to Faimingen an der Donau, now part of the municipality of Lauingen. The "old castle" was probably destroyed in the war over the Eichstätt fiefdom and not rebuilt. The Jewish cemetery has been located on the castle hill of the former castle with a ring-shaped moat, the Burgstall Steinhart, also known as the Judenbuck, since the 18th century. After Herman Spet received permission to build a new fortress in Steinhart in 1328, the new Steinhart Castle was strategically built over the Burgstall, today also known as the "Old Castle". After 1339 the castle changed hands and came to the Counts of Öttingen, who sold the property to the von Gundelsheim family in 1359. After the castle was already in poor structural condition in 1532, it changed hands and was probably destroyed in 1634 during the Thirty Years' War. The ruins have been privately owned since 1971. Significant remnants of the enclosing walls with hump ashlars with notched edges at the corners are still preserved from the former rectangular castle complex with an outer bailey on a trapezoidal floor plan. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burg_Steinhart