Markgrafenschloss Günzburg

Markgrafenschloss Günzburg stands on a rise above the Günz river where it meets the Danube, forming the south-west corner of the old town. The Habsburgs took the site in 1301 and turned it into the seat of their Margraviate of Burgau. A late-medieval predecessor was rebuilt between 1577 and 1586 for Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol by the Italian architect Alberto Lucchese. The palace is the only Habsburg residence still standing in Germany today. Its construction cost 132 000 gulden, paid for partly by selling citizens’ houses whose former owners’ names—Kaspar Kündig, Hans Gering and Jakob Böringer—are recorded. After a fire in 1703 the building was restored in Baroque style by Valerian Brenner, then remodelled again in 1769–70 by Joseph Dossenberger the Younger. Visitors find a large rectangular complex whose south and north wings were rebuilt after wartime bombing in 1945. The façades have recently been cleaned, recovering much of their original appearance. Inside, parts serve as the local tax office, but the south wing houses the Historical Association’s museum. From the terrace there is a wide view over the Danube valley and the town’s former monastery quarter.