Harburg Castle, Harburg, Germany - SpottingHistory.com

Harburg Castle is one of the jewels of the German Romantic Road. Wonderfully preserved, the castle sits high on a hill and overlooks the town for which it's named. It is unclear when the first structure was erected, but the castle was first mentioned in a document in 1150. Harburg was built by the former Hohenstaufen emperors of Germany in the 11th or 12th century.

In 1295, the castle was transferred to the Count of Oettingen and it has belonged to the Oettingen, and later the Oettingen-Wallerstein, families ever since.

The castle complex, including the castle house, chapel, sentry walk, prison tower, dungeon, and various buildings used to support the inhabitants, is surrounded by a wall supporting six towers. The castle ballroom is pictured at left. In the center of the complex is a large courtyard with a well.

The present-day fortifications mainly date from the 18th century and can be visited in summer from Tuesday to Sunday. There is also a small hotel-restaurant in the castle.

References:

Romantic Road Germany

User Reviews

thomse red (2 years ago)
Spacious parking, 3€ adult entry and another 4€ for the tour of the castle which is really informative.

Michael Barnes (3 years ago)
Beautiful castle along the road that makes for a wonderful detour. Worth a stop yo enjoy the very well preserved buildings and grounds with an excellent view over the valley.

alicia moraa (3 years ago)
Harburg Castle is the best place to visit while in Germany. So many Historical features since 1000yrs ago or more.... Look out for few pics to motivate you more

No Luck (3 years ago)
Went here on a tour and loved it all!! There is a painting at the end of the tour on the ceiling that gives an incredible optical illusion from one way she is laying down and walk across the room she will be sitting!! Beautiful original castle with deep stories behind it all.

Ben Bradley (3 years ago)
Interesting castle you will find there, walk around and in it, entrance fee to pay. Expect a nice little garden, a high placed sightseeing point, wonderful church, a little gift warehouse, and a inside the castle placed restaurant that I can't really recommend. Long waiting time to get some, price kind high. What I don't like, they allow motorcycles to drive inside the court of the castle. U get awful loud motor sound and stinky gas. Walking around the castle is impressive but all over very dirty.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Nicola since 1972

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