Hohenfreyberg Castle

Hohenfreyberg Castle, locally known as Burgruine Hohenfreyberg, lies north of the town of Pfronten, in the Bavaria region in Germany.

Hohenfreyberg Castle was built between 1418 and 1432 by Friedrich von Freyberg zu Eisenberg. He was the oldest son of the Lord of Eisenberg Castle, only 200 m to the east. It was built in an architectural style of some 2 centuries earlier. Friedrich apparently wanted to create a symbol in times of knightly decline and the rise of the bourgeoisie, a manifesto of unbroken aristocratic claims to power.

Around 1484, however, the Von Freyberg zu Eisenburg family had to sell the castle, due to the financial strain of its upkeep, to Sigismund, Archduke of Austria. In 1499 it was loaned out to Georg Gossembrot. He then strengthened and modernized its defenses. During the German Peasants' War these works paid off as the castle was able to ward off an attack by insurgents.

In 1646, at the end of the Thirty Years' War, the Protestant Swedish army was on its way to the region. To prevent it from falling into their hands intact, the Tyrolean government decided to abandon Hohenfreyberg Castle. It was then cleared out and set on fire, reducing it to a ruin. The same was done with its neighbor Eisenberg and the nearby Falkenstein Castle. However, shortly after the destruction, the Swedish army changed its course and never reached the area, making the destruction meaningless.

After the battle of Austerlitz in 1805, Austria had to relinquish its Allgäu possessions to Bavaria. The Kingdom of Bavaria sold Hohenfreyberg back to the Barons of Freyberg in 1841, to whom the castle still belongs today.

At present Hohenfreyberg Castle can freely be visited. A very nice ruin and together with its neighbor Eisenberg certainly very much worth your visit.

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