Neunußberg Castle (Ruin)

The Lords of Nußberg, originally ministeriales of the Counts of Bogen, are documented since the early 12th century. After the extinction of the Bogen family in 1242, they became vassals of the Wittelsbachs and continued to be among the most respected knightly families in the region. Between 1340 and 1350, Konrad von Nußberg had Neunußberg Castle built and moved the family seat there. In 1360, Duke Albrecht I of Lower Bavaria-Straubing granted the family the hereditary office of Marshal in Lower Bavaria. When 41 nobles of the Bavarian Forest, the “Böckler,” allied against Duke Albrecht IV in 1466, Warmund and Konrad von Nußberg were among them. Following their defeat in the Böckler War of 1468/1469, they were forced to sell the castle to the Duke. A lightning strike destroyed the castle in 1564, and after the extinction of the Lords of Nußberg in 1569, the ruin fell to the Wittelsbachs. By the second half of the 16th century, the militarily useless complex was uninhabited and fell into disrepair. In 1889, the Viechtacher Wald-Verein acquired the castle from its then-owners and began initial renovations in 1939 to ensure its preservation.