Cultural heritage D-3-6340-0037 in Waidhaus

The lost Schloss Pfrentsch once stood on a small island-like hill surrounded by water near the village of Pfrentsch. It belonged to the type of Upper Palatinate manor houses called ‘Kasten’. The site also included a late medieval iron hammer mill driven by the River Pfreimd and, later, a glass-grinding workshop. A large pond, the Pfrentscher Weiher, supplied extra water power until it was drained in 1840. The place matters because its remains are officially listed as a protected archaeological monument. Written records begin in 1362 when Emperor Charles IV granted permission to build the pond, and in 1387 the hammer mill appears in a local agreement. Over the centuries the estate passed through the hands of Leuchtenberg landgraves, the Palatinate, and several noble families including the Eschenbecks and the Rummels. In 1768 Christian Freiherr von Rummel founded the first glass and mirror grinding mill here. Today visitors find only earthworks and buried foundations, but the setting is still striking. The remains of the dam that once held back the Pfrentscher Weiher can be seen nearby. The gentle slopes around the former island carry meadows and a few scattered farm buildings. The quiet valley of the Pfreimd, lined with beech woods, completes the scene.