From 1216 to 1789, Ellingen was the residence of the Land Commander of the Franconian Bailiwick of the Teutonic Order. The current castle complex, which was built between 1708 and around 1760, was preceded by several medieval buildings and a Renaissance building. The current main building was built between 1717 and 1721 by the architect Franz Keller based on plans by Wilhelm Heinrich Behringer under the instructions of Karl Heinrich von Hornstein. Various ceiling paintings, wall paneling and floors, as well as stucco by Franz Joseph Roth, have been preserved from this period. The colonnades in the inner courtyard were created during the renovation by Pierre Michel d’Ixnard around 1775. In 1815, King Maximilian I Joseph handed the castle over to his field marshal, Prince Carl Philipp von Wrede, who had some rooms decorated with silk and paper wallpaper as well as furniture, glass and bronze figures from Paris. Around 1939, the von Wrede family sold the castle to the Bavarian state. It is now maintained by the Bavarian Palace Administration, which carried out many conservation measures around 1990, such as gutting the attics and renovating the foundations.
Source: Wikipedia