Katzenstein Castle

Dischingen, Germany, Germany

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Katzenstein Castle in Dischingen, Germany, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited castles in southern Germany, a well-preserved Hohenstaufen hill fortress first mentioned in 1099 when built by the Lords of Katzenstein to guard a vital north-south trade route from the Danube to Nördlingen along the Egau River valley.

Expanded in the 13th century by the von Hürnheim family, it endured destruction in conflicts including the Bavarian War of 1419, Schmalkaldic War of 1546, and burning by French troops in 1648 during the Thirty Years' War, followed by lavish rebuilding in 1669 as a residence under Count Notger Wilhelm von Oettingen-Baldern.

Passed to the princely Oettingen-Wallerstein line in 1798 and state-administered after 1810, the privately owned site since 1939 features a ring wall enclosing three courtyards, Katzenturm keep, Romanesque chapel, and palas hall, now open to visitors with a museum, markets, weddings, and hiking amid the Swabian Alb.