Zangenstein Castle

The Zangenstein castle ruin is a castle ruin on a rock above the Schwarzach in the Zangenstein district of the market town of Schwarzhofen in the Upper Palatinate district of Schwandorf in Bavaria.

Zangenstein was probably already settled during the Stone Age. This is evidenced by numerous finds from prehistory and early history.

The hilltop castle was built in 1360 with the permission of Count Palatine Ruprecht I by Otto der Zenger von Schwarzeneck above the Schwarzach on a granite rock at the existing bridge over the Murach. Presumably, a predecessor castle existed, which, however, did not yet have a stone curtain wall, but was secured with wooden palisades. This can be deduced from the document of 1360, as it explicitly mentions the fortification made of stones.

In 2010, the early significance of the castle rock, surrounded by the Schwarzach river, was confirmed. An archaeological excavation in the immediate vicinity of the rock discovered a 2800-year-old burial mound from the Celtic period (Hallstatt culture). The finds from the burial mound were evaluated at the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation in Regensburg and can now be viewed in the Nabburg City Museum.

In their heyday between the 14th and 16th centuries, the Lords of Zenger owned, in addition to Zangenstein Castle and Schwarzeneck Castle (first mentioned in writing in 1211) about five kilometers away, other castles in the Upper Palatinate, including Thanstein, Fronhof, and Zangenfels castles, and later also Forstenberg, Schwarzenberg, and possibly also Altenschneeberg Castle.

After the extinction of the Zenger family in the 16th century, who last tried to prevent their social decline through raids, Zangenstein Castle constantly changed owners and fell into disrepair in the 19th century.

The castle is now in private ownership.

The chapel has been managed by the Catholic Church Foundation Zangenstein since approx. 1873 and, according to notarized certification and land register entry from 1905, was transferred to this foundation by the then owners. Since the Catholic Church Foundation Zangenstein is currently not staffed, the chapel is managed and maintained by the "Schlosskapelle Zangenstein" association, founded in 1988. It can be visited by prior arrangement.