Hirschstein Castle (Ruin)

The castle was first documented in 1223. Archaeological ceramic finds suggest that the site was inhabited during the 13th and 14th centuries. In 1317, Count Berthold von Henneberg enfeoffed the five brothers of Hirschberg, including Heinrich, Friedrich, Arnolt, Eberhart, and Heymann, with the “house” on the Kornberg. By the mid-14th century, the castle had been destroyed. Although Burgrave Friedrich von Nürnberg granted the Hirschbergs permission to rebuild in 1361, and this permission was renewed multiple times, Hirschstein remained a ruin. The Hirschberg family instead relocated their seat to Grünstein Castle. During the Thirty Years' War, the ruins and vaults of the old castle offered refuge to the rural population.