Cultural heritage D-3-6835-0147 in Berching

The medieval castle of Staufersbuch once stood north of St Martin’s church in the village of Staufersbuch, a district of Berching in Bavaria’s Upper Palatinate. The site is listed as an archaeological monument and shows traces of both a 16th-century manor house and an earlier medieval fortress. The church’s square tower still carries the marks of its former role as the castle chapel.

Ownership passed through many local noble families from the 12th to the 18th century. The Staufersbuchers, the von Puch family, the Pollanters, the Sygersdorfers and the Roßthalers all held the estate in turn. Religious conflicts in the 16th century forced several owners to leave the region. By 1637 the site belonged to a Munich brotherhood before passing to a court councillor named Victor Gilg. Later it was acquired by the Klingenbergs and then by the Mayer family, who kept it until Bavarian reforms ended local jurisdiction in 1808.

Today only the church tower remains as a visible reminder of the vanished fortress. The rest of the site lies beneath modern houses and farm buildings. Visitors can still see the medieval tower attached to St Martin’s and walk the quiet lanes where the castle once commanded the approach to the village. The surrounding farmland and wooded hills give a sense of the strategic position the fortress once held.