Burg Herrieden

The Stadtschloss Herrieden stands on the north-eastern edge of the old town, its ruins forming part of the town wall and the medieval core. Built as a city fortress, it once protected the collegiate church of Eichstätt’s bishops and the local lords who governed the area. The site has witnessed sieges, fires and rebuilds since its first mention in 1122. The castle’s turbulent past includes a 1314 siege by King Ludwig the Bavarian, whose engineers from Nuremberg helped reduce the walls. After the defenders broke out in a desperate sortie, the town was stormed and the fortifications levelled. Later earthquakes and fires repeatedly damaged the rebuilding, yet each bishop left his mark: Gabriel von Eyb rebuilt the bridge in 1508, while Johann Anton Knebel von Katzenellenbogen added the 1717 inscription above the gate. The brewery installed in the 17th century still shows its rectangular stone trough for steeping barley. Today the half-ruined main building and the fortified gatehouse remain within the town’s defences. A partly buried arched bridge leads to the tower, whose mansard roof and basket-arched passage frame the view of the old town. Inside the gatehouse, a sandstone relief shows Saint Deocar kneeling before a bishop, while the outer walls carry the coats of arms of bishops and the Eichstätt diocese. The cellar vault, once part of the prince-bishop’s brewery, still holds its massive stone trough.