Appelhof

Appelhof is a single estate in Mittelfranken, standing two kilometres southwest of Allersberg beside the Rothsee. A small river called the Kleine Roth flows past on its southern edge and soon joins the lake. The only building is a small Rococo château, the only such house in the district. A federal motorway and a high-speed railway run close by, yet the place keeps its quiet air. The estate lies in the old municipal area of Altenfelden, now part of Allersberg. The house was built about 1760 for Jacob Gilardi, a local factory owner, as a summer home. Gabriel de Gabrieli, a well-known architect, may have designed it. In 1889 the Faber pencil-making family bought the property and still own it today. The estate was first recorded in 1457 when Veit Ellwanger sold land here to the Duke of Bavaria-Landshut. For centuries it belonged to Nuremberg patrician families before passing to the Fabers. Visitors find a single yellow-and-white Rococo building surrounded by meadows and woodland. A former chapel stands nearby, though the house itself has been empty since 2011. Plans exist to restore the château. The Rothsee offers paths for walking and cycling, while the motorway and railway are barely heard above the birdsong. The estate remains a peaceful reminder of 18th-century summer life in Franconia.