Bernstein Castle

Schloss Bernstein is a castle complex in Bernstein, today a district of Wunsiedel. The castle was built around 1200. Owners included the von Rorer family, documented in 1360 with Peter Rorer. In 1613, the von Sparneck family bought the estate. After they had sought safety within the city walls of Wunsiedel during the Thirty Years' War, they further expanded Bernstein in 1648. The castle was a seniorate fief of the von Sparneck family, which they, like Schloss Dörflas, retained until their extinction in 1744. Elisabeth Jäger has made significant contributions to the research of the Sparneck imperial fiefs. The ownership of the castle also included the right of church patronage. In the church there are three epitaphs of the von Sparneck family; a child's tombstone has not yet been clearly identified. The heirs of the Sparnecks were the von Reitzenstein family.