Cultural heritage D-2-7639-0102 in Velden (Vils)

The remains of Vilssöhl Castle lie in the village of Vilssöhl, now part of Velden in Lower Bavaria. The site sits about 100 metres north of St Erasmus’s church beside the Great Vils river. Archaeologists recognise medieval and early modern traces beneath the ground, including foundations of outbuildings and earlier building phases. Two bridges once crossed the river just below the castle walls. In 1723 the whole complex was rebuilt as a two-storey manor house topped by a pavilion under a pyramid roof. The castle changed hands many times between local noble families. Wilhelm Reigker appears in records from 1426, the Egker family in 1506, and the Schleich dynasty from 1594 until 1696. After a fire in 1887 the miller Johann Oberhofer and his wife Franziska rebuilt it as a farmstead. The last private owners, the Kammermeiers, acquired the property in 1907. Today the site is a grassy rise beside the riverbank. A low wall still marks part of the enclosure, with gateways to the south and north. On the south side the remains of barns and workshops once linked to the castle can be traced. The river’s two old bridges have gone, but the flowing water and the nearby church tower give a sense of the vanished fortress’s setting.