Stockenfels Castle Ruins

The town of Nittenau organizes a “Ghost Walk” festival several times a year, during which this castle is also visited. The castle itself is well surrounded by beech trees. Therefore, it is difficult to catch a glimpse of the Regental from outside the castle. This is most likely to happen in winter. A steep single trail leads south into the Mariental, which is a welcome adventure for brave mountain bikers. Attention: Hikers also like to use this path! Here are the opening times:
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The ruin is unfortunately not always open

The construction of the buildings that have been preserved points to the middle of the 14th century as the date of construction or to the two builders at the time, Duke Ludwig the Strict and his successor Duke Ludwig IV, later Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian. The latter equipped Stockenfels Castle with its own chapel. After the death of Emperor Ludwig, Stockenfels frequently changed owners, among whom there were even robber lords. In 1351 the property came to the patrician Auer family, who originally came from Regensburg but had to leave their home town in 1334. In 1372, after some war chaos, Stockenfels was taken over by the Wittelsbachs. In 1430, the knight Georg Heuras von Satzdorf took over the castle.
In 1510, the Heuras sold the lordship to Albrecht von Wirsberg, who was the district judge and caretaker of Neunburg v. Wald. A period followed during which the owners constantly changed.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Baron Karl von Eckart acquired the ruins, which are still owned by his descendants, the Counts of Mühle-Eckart. The current owner is Gabriele Countess von Drechsel, née Countess Mühle-Eckart, who is also responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the castle.