Herzogskasten Castle

The Herzogskasten in Ingolstadt, also known as the Old Castle, is a Gothic secular building from the 13th century and today houses the city library.

The Herzogskasten was built around 1255 on behalf of Louis the Strict as a palatinate in Ingolstadt, making it the oldest surviving non-ecclesiastical building in the city. To the east, there is a round city wall tower, also from the 13th century. The stepped gables on the front sides, articulated with pilaster strips, were probably added in the 14th century. Rubble stone and bricks served as building materials for the eight-story building. The small choir on the western narrow side of the castle indicates where the castle chapel once stood. Upon its completion, the Herzogskasten served as an additional fortification at the southeastern end of the rectangular, first city wall, which bordered the Schutter to the south. Unlike the smaller buildings of the same name in Abensberg and Kelheim, the building initially did not serve as a granary but was the residence for the Ingolstadt dukes until the completion of the New Castle in the 15th century. The conversion into a granary probably only took place at the end of the 17th century.