Arnsberg Castle

The ruin of the hilltop castle lies on a mighty rock formation at the edge of the valley, an impressive dolomite massif in the Altmühl Valley, and approximately 120 meters above the village. It is thus located in the heart of the Altmühl Valley Nature Park. Not far from the castle in the valley, the Schambach Valley flows into the Altmühl.

Since the 12th century, Arnsberg was owned by the noble free lords of Erlingshofen, who subsequently named themselves after the place. In 1087, Gozwin von Arnsberg is mentioned as a witness. The family moved to Heideck in the 13th century and changed their surname again. By 1278, Arnsberg Castle was already in the possession of a Gottfried von Heideck, but the castle was referred to as an Eichstätt fief. The family had apparently submitted to the Prince-Bishopric of Eichstätt early on.

Even before 1305, Gottfried IV sold the lordship to Duke Otto III of Lower Bavaria. In 1328, the Dukes of Bavaria pledged the castle for the first time. One of the pledge holders around 1350 was the minnesinger Hadamar III von Laaber. From 1365, the Frauenhofer family held the pledge. This pledge relationship ended around 1416 with a dispute; the Frauenhofers were subsequently outlawed after being accused, among other things, of highway robbery. Duke Ludwig the Bearded had to forcibly take the castle from the "robber knights."

In 1473 and 1475, the Prince-Bishopric of Eichstätt reacquired its old castle from Duke Albrecht, which was then pledged to Sibylla von Heideck. The complex subsequently remained Eichstätt property until secularization and occasionally served as a hunting and summer residence for the bishops. In 1663, the mountain fortress was restored; in 1763, parts had to be demolished.

Subsequently, the buildings began to decay, as only the outbuildings were still in use. This decay accelerated after secularization, so that in the mid-19th century, further extensive demolitions were initiated for safety reasons. The abandoned castle was a welcome quarry for the inhabitants of the village and the surrounding area, so much more material was removed from the masonry than was actually necessary. As early as 1868, Kugler, the author of the booklet "Die Altmühlalp" (Ingolstadt), lamented the loss of this "ornament of the region," whose castle chapel of St. George had already collapsed in 1798. Further loss of substance occurred due to several rockfalls, for example in 1926 and 1931.