Schloss Kürn

Schloss Kürn stands in the village of Kürn, part of Bernhardswald in the Upper Palatinate region of Bavaria. The present building is a two-storey classical four-wing structure with hipped roofs and a central gable. Its core dates from 1698, though much of the visible form comes from a 19th-century rebuilding after a fire in 1825. The site is protected as a monument and also preserves archaeological traces of its medieval predecessor. The Kürn family built the first castle here, first mentioned in 1197 and recorded as a castle in 1299. After changing hands several times, the property passed to the counts of Wald in 1830 and has remained with them since. The classical rebuilding introduced a symmetrical façade with nine window bays and a pedimented central projection. Visitors find a quiet park on the south-western slope, where ancient granite boulders stand among beech trees. Only a shallow ditch now marks the site of the medieval fortification. Inside, the plain classical interiors reflect the 19th-century reconstruction. The whole estate offers a clear view of rural Upper Palatinate life unchanged by modern development.