Schloss Baumgarten (Dietersburg)

Schloss Baumgarten stands in the village of Baumgarten within the municipality of Dietersburg in Lower Bavaria. The site includes a medieval and early modern complex with a Catholic schloss church dedicated to St Bartholomew. A baroquised garden and the remains of earlier fortifications surround the main buildings. The castle’s history reaches back to the 12th century when the Edlen von Baumgarten held the land. After changing hands through marriage, sale and inheritance—among counts, dukes and noble families—it finally passed to the Arco-Valley counts in 1821. The present schloss, with its polygonal layout and 16th-century core, still bears witness to these centuries of ownership. Visitors enter across a moat and bridge into an irregular courtyard framed by arcades and a four-storey tower. The schloss church of St Bartholomew, built in 1796, stands just east of the gatehouse. Nearby are 19th-century farm ranges with hipped roofs and a walled park containing an 18th-century fountain. The whole ensemble remains in private hands and retains its quiet, fortified character.