Haichenbach Castle

The first documented mention of Haichenbach Castle, then known as Eichenbach, dates to 1160, when Otto and Wernher de Eichenbach were named as ministerials. By 1220, Otto II. already called himself von Haichenbach. Rudin von Haichenbach sold the fortress to Wok von Rosenberg in 1258. Just ten years later, in 1268, Ulrich von Haichenbach was the lord of the castle. A fire destroyed the castle in 1273, after which Rueger von Haichenbach permitted the use of his forests in 1274 to reside in the monastery hospital while Haichenbach was being rebuilt. Rueger sold the majority of his property to the Diocese of Passau in 1303, and his son Rudel followed in 1337 with the sale of the remaining property. The Diocese of Passau subsequently managed the castle through administrators, temporarily pledged it to the Schaunberger family (1381), and later granted it as a fief.