Lohrer Schloss

The Lohrer Schloss stands in the town of Lohr am Main in Lower Franconia. It began as a small Flemish-style tower built around 1340 by Count Gerhard V of Rieneck. By the late 15th century the tower had been surrounded by a moat and curtain wall, with ancillary buildings such as a bandhouse, forestry office, coach house and wine cellar nearby. The Electors of Mainz took over the site in 1559 and enlarged it into a residence for their senior officials. Philipp Christoph von und zu Erthal served as Oberamtmann from 1719 until his death in 1748. His sons included Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal, the last Elector of Mainz, and Franz Ludwig von Erthal, later Prince-Bishop of Bamberg and Würzburg. In 1814 the Kingdom of Bavaria took possession and used the building as an administrative centre until 1972. Inside the castle the Rittersaal now houses the Spessart Museum. The displays focus on the history of the castle and the Spessart region, with particular attention to the relationship between people and the forest. Outside, the moat and curtain wall still enclose the old courtyard where the bandhouse, forestry office, coach house and wine cellar once stood.