Schloss Holzen

Schloss Holzen stands in the market town of Essenbach in Lower Bavaria. It is a former manor house of the Holzen estate, now a moated water castle. The building is surrounded by a wide water-filled moat on all sides. A steep, three-storeyed pitched roof rises above its two main storeys. Nine small battlements crown the front gable, giving the façade a fortified look. The castle was built in 1604, as a dated tablet on the north wall records. In 1905 Louis van Heemskerck carried out a major remodelling. The inscription tablet itself dates from that same year, when it was placed on the wall. The Bavarian heritage office has listed the site since 1905 under the number D-2-74-128-19. Visitors find a two-storey plastered building with a grand front gable. The moat keeps the walls dry and adds to the castle’s island setting. Inside, the rooms reflect the 1905 alterations by van Heemskerck. Outside, the surrounding countryside of Lower Bavaria stretches away from the water-filled ditches.