Neufahrn Castle

Schloss Neufahrn stands in the village of Neufahrn in Lower Bavaria, beside a broad water-filled moat. The present four-winged building rises on a medieval plan, its two-storey walls enclosing a quiet inner courtyard. A round tower with a domed roof marks the former chapel, while a stub of a taller tower rises at the south-west corner. The castle’s story begins in 1123, when Ernst von Kirchberg gave the estate to Mallersdorf Abbey. Over the centuries it passed through many hands—dukes, knights, innkeepers and counts—until 1510 the Kraus family built a Renaissance palace on the site. After wars and fires the Haunsberg counts rebuilt it in the 17th century, and later owners included the Arco, Törring and Thurn und Taxis families. In 1988 the present owners turned the building into a hotel that still hosts a lively medieval festival each summer. Visitors walk across the old wooden bridge into the courtyard, where double-storey arcades line the north side. The round tower chapel can be visited, and the five-storey stump offers a view over the moat and the surrounding farmland. The hotel occupies the two-storey wings, while the remaining towers stand as silent witnesses to seven centuries of Bavarian history.