Egg Castle

Egg Castle, locally known as Schloss Egg, lies next to the village of the same name, in the Bavaria region in Germany.

Egg Castle was probably built a few years before 1103, when it was first mentioned as the seat of Thiemo de Ecke. The Ecke family served the Counts of Bogen and later the Bavarian dukes.

In 1403 the castle went to the Barons of Fraunberg who sold it to Henry XVI, Duke of Bavaria, in 1427. During the next 150 years the Dukes of Bavaria appointed castellans or mortgaged the castle to wealthy vassals. In 1581 Duke William V sold the castle to his treasurer Karl Keckh.

During the Thirty Years’ War, in 1633, Swedish troops destroyed the village and ransacked and burned the castle. The Keck family sold the damaged castle to Franz, Count of Spaur, in 1648.

During the next centuries Egg Castle went through the hands of several nobles through marriages and inheritances. In 1840 it was property of Count Josef Ludwig von Armansperg, who had been Finance Minister in the Kingdom of Bavaria and Regent of Greece. He had the castle extensively rebuilt and gave it its present Romantic appearance.

Later the castle passed through the hands of several owners until 1939 when it was bought by Joseph Maximilian Hartl, a businessman and Consul of China. His descendants still own the castle.

Originally Egg Castle was a moated castle and most of what we see today is the result of the 19th century rebuilding. The square, 45 m high, keep has a real oubliette on its lowest level. During the rebuilding work, a large heap of human bones, compromising over 30 people, was recovered from this dungeon. They were subsequently interred in a local graveyard.

At present Egg Castle can be visited for a fee. It is used as a museum, a wedding venue and a hotel. A very nice castle, worth your visit.

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