To be privately owned
CastleBetzenstein
Betzenstein Castle (Burg)
Betzenstein Castle is a high medieval castle on the Schlossberg in the town of Betzenstein (Burgweg 7–9) in the Upper Franconian district of Bayreuth in Bavaria.
The hilltop castle was presumably built around 1187 and was the seat of the ministerialis Friedrich von Betzenstein. Betzenstein Castle was first mentioned on August 11, 1311, with the enfeoffment of Konrad von Schlüsselberg by the Bamberg Bishop Wulfing von Stubenberg, explicitly highlighting the merits of the Schlüsselberg family for the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg.
Presumably due to the feud between Bishop Werntho Schenk von Reicheneck and Ulrich von Leuchtenberg, the Prince-Bishopric lost part of the castle. Landgrave Ulrich enfeoffed his part of the castle to the Crown of Bohemia on May 30, 1327. It is possible that a double complex existed at this time, with the northern rock being built with the episcopal castle and the southern one with the now Leuchtenberg castle. A part of the castle, attested in the 16th century and now ruined, also points to this.
After the bishops of Würzburg and Bamberg and the burgraves of Nuremberg reached an agreement in 1347, ownership passed to the burgraves, who sold it to the Leuchtenberg landgraves in 1359. They were now in possession of the entire castle complex and received the right from Emperor Charles IV to fortify the market town of Betzenstein.
In 1402, the castle was occupied by King Ruprecht I, and on February 13, 1418, Landgrave Leopold sold the castle and the town of Betzenstein to Count Palatine Johann von Neumarkt-Neunburg. Shortly thereafter, the castle was destroyed in the Bavarian War of 1420–22 and rebuilt in 1550. On May 20, 1553, it burned down in the Second Margrave War.
From 1555 until the 18th century, reconstruction measures and various renovations were carried out.
Current Use+
The castle is currently privately inhabited and is not accessible.
Description+
The first part of the castle is said to have been demolished as early as the 18th century, including a tower in the northern upper castle in 1709. A single-story building from 1558 with a hip roof on a T-shaped floor plan on a high plinth and a two-story round tower with a tent roof on the southern castle have been preserved. In the northeastern area, a two-story building from the 17th to 18th century was significantly altered in the 20th century.
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Source: Wikipedia · Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Burg_Betzenstein03.jpg
This description draws on the facts documented in the linked Wikipedia article; Wikipedia content is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wording and editing: Mobile History.
Location: 49.6820, 11.4172