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Reifenberg Castle
Reifenberg Castle
Weilersbach-Reifenberg
Coordinates	49°45′21″N 11°08′09″E / 49.755925°N 11.135952°E
Type	hill castle, spur castle
Code	DE-BY
Height	453.6 m above sea level (NN)
Site information
Condition	burgstall, castle chapel
Site history
Built	probably c. 1145
Garrison information
Occupants	free knights, clerics

Reifenberg Castle (German: Burgstall Reifenberg) is a former spur castle on the Reifenberg hill (453.6 m above sea level (NN)) above the village of Reifenberg in the municipality of Weilersbach in the Upper Franconian county of Forchheim in the south German state of Bavaria.

History

By 1145 the free knights of Reifenberg had moved from Ettling near Ingolstadt. They also went under the name of Speinshart and were founders of Speinshart Abbey. In 1160 Emperor Frederick I confirmed the estate of Reifenberg Castle to Bishop Eberhard II of Bamberg and in 1185 Pope Lucius III confirmed the estate to the Bishopric of Bamberg.

In 1430, during the Hussite Wars, the castle was damaged, but rebuilt in stages up to 1446. In 1460 the castle chapel of St. Nicholas was mentioned for the first time. In 1525, at the time of the Palatine Peasants' War, the castle had probably already become derelict. From 1607 to 1613 the Church of St. Nicholas (Vexier Chapel) was rebuilt and, in 1788, was given a baroque tower and hence its present appearance.

Literature

Hans-Michael Körner, Alois Schmid (eds.), Martin Ott: Handbuch der historischen Stätten. Bayern II Franken. Alfred Kröner Verlag, Stuttgart, 2006, ISBN 978-3-520-32501-3, pp. 436-437.
Hellmut Kunstmann: Die Burgen der südwestlichen Fränkischen Schweiz. 2nd edition, Kommissionsverlag Degener & Co, Neustadt an der Aisch, 1990, pp. 121-134.