Hardt Castle

The origins of Hardt Castle are dated to the year 1494. Following a fire in 1769, Joseph Maria Langenmantel von Westheim, the abbot of St. Ulrich and Afra Monastery in Augsburg, had the castle converted into his summer residence. Older structural elements were integrated, and a chapel was added, whose design may have come from Joseph Dossenberger, Ignaz Paulus, or Franz Xaver Kleinhans. The chapel was furnished, including frescoes by Joseph Mages. As early as 1777, the heavily indebted abbot had to sell the estate. The castle changed hands multiple times, including to Maria Anna of Bavaria, King Ludwig I's half-sister.