Schloss Absberg

Schloss Absberg stands in the village of Absberg in Mittelfranken, a three-storey Baroque building arranged in three wings around a courtyard. It faces north and shows the typical features of the period: projecting sections, flat pilasters and corner pavilions. The architect was Franz Keller, working under the influence of Gabriel de Gabrieli, a leading Baroque master in southern Germany. The castle has housed Regens Wagner Absberg since 1909, a residential centre for people with disabilities run by the Regens-Wagner Foundation. Inside, visitors see painted ceilings and elaborate stucco that includes angels and floral bands. The west wing displays the coat of arms of Franz Ludwig von Pfalz-Neuburg, while the south wing contains the castle chapel, built in 1777 as the first Catholic church in the Protestant village. The chapel, now the parish church of St Ottilia, has an 1840 altar from Ansbach and a flat coffered ceiling with shallow arched panels. Its walls are lined with pilasters, and the 1730 confessionals and carvings remain in place. Outside, the remains of the Baroque orchard planted in the 18th century frame the approach to the building.