Castle Map

Palace

Schloss Greifenstein

Germany

Heritage status
architectural heritage monument in Bavaria
Location
Heiligenstadt in Oberfranken
Coordinates
49.87427°, 11.17194°
Links
OpenStreetMap · Wikimedia Commons
Open on the map →Official website ↗Wikipedia ↗
Schloss Greifenstein in Germany
Photo: Immanuel Giel · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Description

Schloss Greifenstein is a castle in the mountainous Fraconian Switzerland (Fränkische Schweiz) region of Upper Franconia, Germany. Since 1691 Greifenstein, the "stone stronghold" of Heiligenstadt round its walls, is the seat of the noble Schenk von Stauffenberg family. Greifenstein is a prominent feature of the modern tourist itinerary called the Burgenstraße (Castle Road).

The Gothic castle that was first noted in 1172 was ruined and pillaged during the Peasants' war of 1524-1525 and was subsequently rebuilt. Then Marquard Sebastian von Schenk von Stauffenberg, Prince-Bishop of Bamberg, took possession and rebuilt Greifenstein in Baroque style from 1691 to 1693, under the direction of the Bavarian architect Leonhard Dientzenhofer; consequently, as a seat of the bishop it is sometimes called Greifenstein Palais, though the aofficial bishop's palace stood (and still stands) in Bamberg. The Prince-Bishop inscribed over his gate a Latin motto taken from Luke 6:19: "for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all." The assemblage of arms and armor are outstanding.

A comprehensive restoration was carried out by Otto Philipp Schenk, Graf von Stauffenberg, in 1975–77.

Text adapted from “Schloss Greifenstein” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

In the rankings

Schloss Greifenstein ranks #5,609 of 9,902 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #522 of the 927 mapped in Germany. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,338 times in the last 60 days, more than 64% of the atlas. 13 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Germany compares in the castle statistics.

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