Schloss Hainhofen

Schloss Hainhofen stands in Hainhofen, a village that belongs to Neusäß near Augsburg in Swabia. The building consists of two parts, a High Castle and a Long Castle, separated for centuries before a connecting structure joined them in the late 18th century. The High Castle was remodelled around 1730, removing its old oriels and replacing the pitched roof with a hipped roof. A western wing was added to contain a grand staircase, and an upper hall received delicate ceiling stucco. The Long Castle was reduced to two and a half storeys under a low hipped roof, its western gable displaying the builder’s alliance coat of arms dated 1776. The site passed from the Fugger family to the Paler family, then back to the Rehlinger family through marriage, and endured many changes of ownership. In the 19th century a small chapel was installed on the ground floor. During the 20th century the castle served as a café, a beauty farm, a refugee home and even a sect’s headquarters before falling into disrepair. A thorough restoration finished in 2014 earned the Swabian District Monument Prize for exemplary work. Visitors walk through the connected wings and see the grand staircase in the western risalit. The upper hall still shows its 18th-century stucco decoration. The Long Castle’s ground floor chapel remains in place, and the western gable carries the noble couple’s carved arms. Outside, the symmetrical roofs and the single-storey link create a calm, balanced silhouette against the Swabian countryside.