Schloss Reichenberg

Schloss Reichenberg once stood on a south-facing ridge in Pfarrkirchen, Niederbayern. The spur juts out over the valley, protected on three sides by steep drops and on the north by two dry ditches cut across the narrow ridge. A small chapel of the 18th or 19th century marks the spot where the inner ditch once guarded the approach. The site was first recorded around 800, long before Rapoto III of Ortenburg lost control of the castle to the Bavarian dukes in 1248. By 1260 the Wittelsbachs had made it the seat of their Pfleggericht, a regional court and administrative centre covering several surrounding villages. The castle was rebuilt as a residence after Swedish troops burned it in 1648, then served as a hunting lodge for the dukes until it was demolished in 1804. Today only grassy banks and the chapel remain, but the outline of the inner bailey can still be traced among the trees. The view from the ridge looks down over the Rott valley towards Eggenfelden and Massing, the same landscape the medieval judges once surveyed from their bench.