Hilpoltstein Castle (Ruin)

Archaeological findings suggest an initial fortification on the castle hill as early as the 10th century. Around 1100, a hilltop castle emerged from this, first mentioned in 1109 and documented in 1142. The designation “castellum dicto Stein” in 1154 refers to its founders, the Lords of Stein. Between 1220 and 1230, the palas and the keep were likely constructed. Heinrich von Stein, an imperial ministerialis with connections to the Staufer emperors, had the complex further expanded around 1250. After the death of Hilpolt IV in 1385, the castle passed to the Wittelsbach dynasty, later to the Dukes of Bavaria-Landshut, and in 1505 to the Duchy of Pfalz-Neuburg.