New Castle Hemau

The Neues Schloss (New Castle) is a listed building located at Kirchengasse 10/12 on the Münchberg next to the parish church in the town of Hemau in the district of Regensburg (Bavaria). It is the successor building to Hemau Castle, which was erected in the 12th century.

The founding of Hemau Castle is attributed to the Counts of Hirschberg. They held the Bamberg Vogtland on the Tangrintl, the former royal forest around Hemau. The castle served as a seat of power and to control the road from Regensburg to Nuremberg. The last Hirschberg, Count Gebhard VII, in the event of his childless death, bequeathed Hemau and all his possessions to Duke Ludwig II, although Prüllfening Abbey was actually the landowner and the Diocese of Bamberg the superior owner. In 1305, the Wittelsbachs were enfeoffed by Bishop Wulfing with the town of Hemau and the surrounding Tangrintl. In a register of Prüllfening Abbey from 1459 to 1484, a castrum attributed to the sovereign appears for Hemau; it was the seat of the ducal administrator. The castle was located west of the parish church and was a relatively small Romanesque complex with a keep. Nepomuk von Reisach described in 1780 a tower built of large ashlar blocks (popularly called Hofturm or Hexenturm) not far from the administrator's dwelling, which was equipped with cages for the incarceration of convicts and torture instruments. In 1797, half of the tower was demolished, and in 1804, it was completely removed.

The Neues Schloss was built around 1600 by the town of Hemau using demolition material from the earlier castle (with the exception of the tower). Around 1810, further older buildings were demolished. From 1797–1810, parts of the castle were demolished. The building served, among other things, as a former rent office building and later as a district court. Today it is used as an outpost of the Regensburg Surveying Office and is owned by the Free State of Bavaria.