Burg Marquartstein

Burg Marquartstein is an 11th-century castle standing on a hill above the village of Marquartstein in Bavaria. The stone structure has forty bedrooms arranged around two courtyards. A round keep rises at the highest point, looking down over the valley of the River Alz. The castle sits on the edge of the Chiemgau, a region of rolling foothills between Lake Chiemsee and the Alps. Marquartstein village clusters below, its church spire visible from the battlements. The castle’s outer walls follow the natural slope, giving it a compact footprint on the hill. A single arched bridge leads from the gatehouse to the outer ward. Konrad Bernheimer, a Munich art dealer, bought the castle in 1987 to hold his family’s collection of Old Master paintings and antique furniture. He had recently sold the family’s Bernheimer-Haus in Munich, so needed a new home for the collection. The castle’s thick walls and high windows suit the display of large canvases and tall cabinets. Bernheimer intended the building to remain in private hands, preserving the art in situ rather than in a public museum. The castle’s quiet hilltop site also protects the works from vibration and light damage. Its remote position adds to the sense of seclusion that collectors value. Inside, visitors find panelled galleries hung with Dutch and Flemish landscapes from the 17th century. The great hall contains a set of carved oak chairs made in Augsburg during the 16th century. The round keep houses smaller cabinets of porcelain and silver, lit by arrow-slit windows. From the battlements there are long views across the valley to the distant Alps. The inner courtyard is paved with large stone flags worn smooth by centuries of footsteps. The outer ward still has its original timber gatehouse, its archway wide enough for a coach-and-four to pass.