Burg Neudeck, Bayern

Burg Neudeck once stood on a spur above the Rott valley in Niederbayern, 435 metres above sea level. The medieval stronghold commanded wide views over the Rottal and protected the surrounding estates. Its earthworks and foundations survive as a protected archaeological site. The castle’s first builders, the Edlen von Neudeck, appear in records from the 12th century. By the 14th century the Schenken von Neudeck had enlarged their holdings to include several villages nearby. The castle passed through the hands of the Törring counts and then the Bohemian Hollup family. Georg Schenk von Neudeck fell mortally wounded at the 1504 battle of Schönberg and was buried in Regensburg. Ritter Jan von Hollup received rich rewards from Bavarian and Bohemian rulers, allowing him to acquire more land around Neudeck and Mattighofen. After his son’s death in 1517 the estate was divided, and the Ortenburg counts gradually reclaimed it. Christoph I. von Ortenburg restored his family’s power and secured further grants from Duke Wilhelm IV. Visitors today find only grassy banks and low mounds marking the castle’s former walls. The site lies southwest of Bad Birnbach, surrounded by farmland and woodland. From the spur the old view over the Rott valley remains much the same as in the Middle Ages. Information boards explain the site’s history and the families who once lived here. The quiet fields and gentle slopes give little hint of the castle’s turbulent past.