Haltenberg Castle

The first documented mention of Haltenberg Castle occurred in 1260, when a Konrad von Haltenberg was named as a vassal of the last Staufer, Konradin. Later, members of this family served the Bavarian dukes. In the early 15th century, the duke acquired a part of the castle and sold it in 1425 to the Augsburg patrician Peter Rehlinger. The Rehlinger family eventually gained full ownership of the castle and held it until the early 17th century. In 1612, the complex passed to the later Elector Maximilian I and was converted into a hunting lodge. The surrounding Lech floodplains were ideal for falconry on herons, and the nearby Westerholz offered hunting grounds for the Munich court society.