Schloss Krumbach

Schloss Krumbach stands on a narrow ridge between the Kammel and Krumbach valleys in the Swabian town of Krumbach. The three-storey Renaissance building was erected in 1530, replacing a medieval castle first mentioned in 1125. Next to it rises the Catholic parish church of St Michael, completing the town’s skyline. The Habsburgs held the castle for more than five centuries until 1805, leasing it to various noble families. In the late 17th century the Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn counts added Baroque interiors, including the still visible stucco ceilings. The castle’s long service as a seat of authority makes it historically important. It housed the district court from 1837, then the district office and finally the county administration until 1972. Earlier, between 1816 and 1838, it served as the town’s school. Today the Joseph-Bernhart Academy of Social Pedagogy occupies the building after a full restoration in 1974–75. The attached Fronfeste, built in 1835–40, once held both an Amtsgericht and a prison. Visitors find a plain Renaissance façade with crenellated gables and a steep roof. Inside, only fragments of the Baroque decoration survive, though the original room layout remains. The Fronfeste’s five storeys rise from the valley floor, contrasting with the castle’s ridge-top position. Beyond the buildings stretches the former castle garden, now the older part of the town park bordered by the Kammel and Krumbach streams.