Schloss Hirschbrunn

Schloss Hirschbrunn stands in Auhausen, a village in Bavaria’s Schwaben region. Built around 1600 as a hunting lodge, it was commissioned by Count Gottfried of Oettingen-Oettingen and Wilhelm II, Count of Oettingen-Wallerstein. Peter and Hans Alberthal designed and constructed the castle, which later became a private residence for the House of Oettingen-Spielberg. During the Thirty Years’ War it was looted after the Battle of Nördlingen in 1634. In the late 17th century Count Franz Albrecht of Oettingen-Spielberg bought the castle and added a Catholic chapel in 1692. The castle’s history reflects its changing uses over four centuries. From 1700 to 1846 it housed a school, then served as a warehouse after the Second World War. Two major renovations in 1978 and 1992 restored its structure for modern occupation. The House of Oettingen-Spielberg still owns the building today, though it remains closed to visitors. Its walls recall the counts who shaped its past and the craftsmen who built it. Inside, visitors would find a mix of original features and later alterations. The chapel added by Franz Albrecht remains a focal point of the interior. The grand rooms reflect the lodge’s origins as a noble retreat, while classrooms from its school years survive in parts of the upper floors. The surrounding parkland, once part of the hunting estate, adds to the calm setting. Though not open to the public, the castle’s exterior and grounds offer a quiet glimpse into four hundred years of history.