Burg Ammerthal: A Historic Hill Castle in Ammerthal, Germany
Visitor Information
Google Rating: 3
Popularity: Very Low
Country: Germany
Civilization: Medieval European
Site type: Military
Remains: Castle
History
Burg Ammerthal is a historic hill castle situated in the municipality of Ammerthal, Germany. It was originally constructed by the Babenberg family around the year 800 during the early Middle Ages. Built upon a steep slope facing southwest, the site was initially referred to as Amardela, reflecting the early medieval origins of the stronghold.
In the year 1003, the castle suffered destruction during the Schweinfurt Feud, a conflict involving King Heinrich II and the noble Heinrich von Schweinfurt. Although the fortress was torn down in this royal campaign, Heinrich von Schweinfurt submitted to the king the following year and recovered his hereditary lands. The castle itself remained in the hands of the Schweinfurt family after this reconciliation.
Following its rebuilding, Burg Ammerthal became the residence of Otto, son of Heinrich von Schweinfurt, as chronicled in the medieval Kastler Reimchronik. Upon Otto’s death without a male successor, ownership passed to his daughter Gisela. Through her marriage, the castle came under the control of the counts of Dießen and Andechs. These new lords played a role in the region’s religious landscape when in 1112, Gisela’s son Friedrich provided several estates around Ammerthal as donations to Kastl monastery, indicating close ties between the castle’s owners and monastic institutions.
Inheritance and marriage shaped the castle’s ownership through the following centuries. Parts of Ammerthal transferred to Gebhart II of Sulzbach and then, through his daughter Sophie’s marriage, to Gerhard I of Hirschberg, bringing the property into the hands of the Hirschberg comital line. By 1307, official records from King Albrecht mention Ammerthal explicitly, confirming its recognition as a fief belonging to the Bavarian dukes Ludwig and Rudolf.
Around the twelfth century, a local noble family known as the Ammerthaler served as ministeriales—unfree knights or administrative officials—under the Hirschberg counts. Members of this family, such as Alhoh who was a cupbearer in 1227, held the castle as a fief. The male line of this family ended in 1373. Following this, Gerhard VII of Hirschberg reallocated the castle to several holders, including notable figures like Heinrich Truchseß von Ammerthal in 1308 and Wolfhart von Ammerthal in 1329.
By the early fifteenth century, Pfalzgraf Ludwig regranted the “House Neuen Ammerthal,” which lay close to the Frauenkirche, distinguishing it from the earlier 12th-century fortress known as Burg Spitz or Altammerthal. Meanwhile, other parts of the surrounding Oberammerthal lands passed through family connections, with the Eschenbeck family controlling these holdings until 1582.
After the death of the last member of the Eschenbeck family, ownership reverted to the Palatinate and was granted to Hans von Schlammersdorf. He sold the estate to Wolf Haller von Raitenbuch, who undertook significant changes by uniting the properties and choosing to demolish the deteriorated medieval castle in 1590. In its place, he built the Hofmarkschloss Ammerthal, a manor house reflecting the architectural style of that later period.
Ownership changed several more times in the centuries that followed. Figures such as Hans Christoph Kronacher and the mayor Johann Miller acquired portions of the estate, leading once again to a division between the new Hofmarkschloss and the site of the original Altammerthal castle. The eighteenth century saw further transfers, including possession by Marquard Wilhelm von Merz and Franz Balthasar von Griesenbeck, continuing the estate’s complex ownership history.
Remains
The castle complex once occupied the entire village area of Oberammerthal, covering approximately 2.2 hectares within its inner courtyard. The main fortress itself spanned around 2,000 square meters and was complemented by a forecourt (Vorburg) that extended over nearly 1.9 hectares. This sizable footprint reflects the importance and scale of the site during its centuries of use.
No visible structures of the original castle survive on the landscape today; however, archaeological investigations have uncovered significant remnants that provide insight into its past. Notably, sections of the walls belonging to the former castle chapel were repurposed in the construction of the nearby Liebfrauenkirche, also known as the Church of Our Lady. This reuse of building materials indicates a continuity of sacred space and practical adaptation following the castle’s decline.
These archaeological findings confirm earlier medieval construction techniques and reveal aspects of the fortification’s spatial organization, even though the physical castle no longer stands. The incorporation of chapel stones into the church links the religious heritage of the castle site with the enduring ecclesiastical presence in the village. Such evidence anchors the memory of the castle in the fabric of the local community, despite the passage of time and structural loss.
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