Thundorf Castle is a moated castle in the center of Thundorf in Lower Franconia, now used as a parish center. After abandoning the fortified settlement on the hilltop, the Burgraves of Schaumberg built their residence on the plain around 1600 in the form of a moated castle. This moated castle replaced an earlier structure that was destroyed in the German Peasants' War. E. Titschack assumes that this earlier structure must have been built before 1444, as a document from 1444 distinguishes between a fortified residence and a hilltop castle on the one hand, and the castle and village of Thundorf on the other.[2] He contradicts S. Zeißner, who had assumed a construction date of 1485/90.[3] He points out that, firstly, the lord of the manor, Oskar von Schaumburg, was in Jerusalem around 1485/90, and secondly, that no evidence of a construction company can be found in the approximately 60 building accounts for this period.
Titschack assumes that this earlier structure must have been built before 1444, since a document from 1444 distinguishes between a fortified residence and a hilltop castle on the one hand, and the castle and village of Thundorf on the other. After the Thirty Years' War, the present-day moated castle, originally built in 1600, became the property of the Barons von Rosenburg. From 1749 to 1756, they added a second wing to the northeast side of the castle and renovated the original wing and corner towers.
After the von Rosenburg family line died out, the property became the property of the Kingdom of Bavaria.
Starting in 1816, the newer wing was converted into the parish church of St. Laurentius under the direction of master builder Büttner. During renovations of the castle and church in the autumn of 1976, remains of walls and wooden posts were discovered. It is unclear whether the remains of the walls are the remnants of a corner tower from a multi-winged structure or the foundations of a defensive tower at the edge of the fortifications. The wooden posts suggest the construction of a structure on marshy ground. In 1976, the church interior was enlarged and a baptistery added using modern concrete construction. The castle grounds include the tithe barn with other outbuildings, as well as a small park containing a half-timbered pavilion. Wikipedia