Pottenstein Castle

The origins of Pottenstein Castle date back to the 11th century. Around 1050, the town of Pottenstein was owned by Margrave Otto of Schweinfurt and passed to his daughter Judith after his death in 1057. She married Count Palatine Botho of Carinthia, who called himself “comes de Potensteine” from 1070. The founding of the castle, whose name means “Botho's Stone,” is dated to the years between 1057 and 1070 and presumably served to secure the area between the Upper Main and Pegnitz. Botho died childless in 1104, and the castle came into the possession of the Diocese of Bamberg during his lifetime. In the 12th century, it served as a residence for Bishop Otto I and was later administered by a ministerial family who named themselves after the castle. Between 1227 and 1228, Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia temporarily resided at the castle. During the Peasants' War in 1525, the castle was plundered but not burned down to protect the town below. However, it suffered severe damage in the Second Margrave War in 1553 by margravial troops. In the Thirty Years' War, a Swedish attack failed in 1634.