Schloss Murnau

Schloss Murnau stands in the market town of Murnau on the Staffelsee in Upper Bavaria. It began as a medieval castle before becoming a ducal residence and later a school. Today the building houses the Schloßmuseum Murnau, recognised as a monument and an archaeological site. The museum’s displays draw on decades of research that have made the castle one of Bavaria’s best-studied sites. Archaeologists found a timber beam from 1232–33 and documents from 1322 placing Otto von Eurasburg in the castle as vogt. Excavations revealed a 12th-century chapel and graves without coffins or grave goods. The four-storey keep survives in the west wing, its original sliding shutters from 1233 still in place. In 1539 the south wing was added, giving the complex its present shape. Visitors walk through rooms that once served as classrooms from 1804 to 1980. The museum presents the region’s history, folk art and art in changing exhibitions. Outside, the castle overlooks the Staffelsee and the town’s timber-framed houses.