Wolfstein Castle

Wolfstein Castle is a castle in Freyung, Lower Bavaria. It gave its name to the Wolfstein district, which was dissolved in 1972. The castle is located northwest of Freyung's city center on a rocky outcrop surrounded on three sides by the Saußbach stream.

Wolfstein Castle was built as a fortress by Passau Bishop Wolfger von Erla around 1200. Previously, the surrounding land had been ceded to the Passau bishops by Emperor Henry VI in 1193. In 1301, a place called Purchstol zu Wolferstein and an accompanying forest, later Freyung, were first mentioned in a document. The castle itself served as a defensive structure, administrative seat, and episcopal hunting lodge. When the Prince-Bishopric of Passau was dissolved in 1803, Wolfstein was initially annexed to Austria; three years later, after the Peace of Pressburg, the area became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria. In 1806, the Bavarian district court of Wolfstein, with its seat at Wolfstein Castle in the rural community of Ort, was established. It belonged to the Unterdonaukreis (from 1838 Lower Bavaria). In 1862, the new district court of Waldkirchen was established from communities of the Wolfstein and Wegscheid district courts, and the former Wolfstein district court was renamed Freyung district court. Both district courts belonged to the "Bezirksamt Wolfstein". In 1938, the districts were renamed Landkreise and the Bezirksämter were renamed Landratsämter. Since the incorporation of the community of Ort on April 1, 1954, Wolfstein Castle has been located within the city of Freyung. In 1972, the Wolfstein district was dissolved.