Burg Lisberg

Burg Lisberg stands on a rocky spur 328 metres above sea level near the village of Lisberg in Upper Franconia. Built in the early Middle Ages, it is one of Germany’s oldest surviving castles and the only intact fortress in the Steigerwald region. The first written record of the site appears in a donation charter of 820, when Hiltuvin handed land to Fulda Abbey. Archaeologists date the oldest masonry, including the keep and parts of the gatehouse, to the 12th century.

The castle has passed through many noble families since the Lords of Lisberg were first mentioned in 1200. After the line died out in the 16th century, the von Lauffenholz, von Thünfeld, von Aschhausen, von Giech and von Milz families held the estate. In 1398 the main castle went to the Ansbach margrave while Würzburg received the village and outer ward. The Free Lords of Münster occupied the castle until 1707, followed by the Princes of Castell-Castell from 1855. In 1968 the graphic artist Hans Fischer bought the property and restored it, creating a Franconian museum inside.

Visitors find a wide medieval complex arranged around a central keep. The outer ward contains a round tower and a gatehouse bearing the 1521 coat of arms of the von Giech family. A dry moat separates the inner castle from the outer ward, and a further enceinte wall surrounds both. The round keep, once a dungeon, was shortened in the 18th century and given a mansard roof. Nearby stand the Gothic chapel of St Nicholas and St Anna, a Renaissance-style palace built around 1600 and a later 18th-century residential wing with a kitchen and knights’ hall. A separate medieval women’s house and a restored granary complete the ensemble.