Fürth am Berg Castle (Ruin)

The first documented mention of Fürth am Berg Castle, then known as Feste Furttenberg, occurred in 1317. Under the feudal lordship of the Bamberg bishops, it served as a central administrative seat. Officials, often from the Franconian and Thuringian nobility, exercised jurisdiction, collected tithes and escort tolls, and demanded corvée labor. Various noble families inhabited the castle, including Berthold Schenk von Siemau from 1359, later the Lords of Schaumberg (1383 and 1601), and from 1502 the Lords of Rosenau. Between 1590 and 1601, the Lords of Brandenstein and the Lords of Würtzburg alternately owned it. The last resident family, the Pömer von Diepoltsdorf from Nuremberg, left the castle in 1660 and moved to a nearby manor in the village. Subsequently, the decay of the complex began. In 1740, the Bamberg bishop gave up the official residence, and the castle ruin was used as a quarry by the villagers.