Schloss Fürstenstein

Fürstenstein, Germany, Germany

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Schloss Fürstenstein is a prominent medieval castle-turned-palace perched on a 578-meter rocky hill in the village of Fürstenstein, Passau district, Lower Bavaria, Germany, serving as one of three key landmarks defining the Dreiburgenland alongside Saldenburg and Englburg. Built between 1347 and 1365 by Duke Albrecht I of Bavaria—first documented that year as the "stone built by the high prince"—it features a lower castle with three round towers, an inner courtyard, and a grand staircase leading to the upper two-winged Hochschloss with visible medieval fortifications. Privately owned since the early 19th century after a devastating 1848 fire and 1860 rebuild, only its northern public wing hosts occasional concerts and markets while the rest remains inaccessible, offering striking views over the Ilztal valley in the Bavarian Forest.