Wolfstein Castle or Schloss Wolfstein is a '' schloss'' and former
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
The ''schloss'' lies northwest of the town centre of Freyung on a rocky crag surrounded on three sides by the
Saußbach
Saußbach (also: ''Saußwasser'' and ''Teufelsbach'') is a river of Bavaria, Germany. The uppermost 4.8 km of its course forms part of the border with the Czech Republic. At its confluence with the Reschbach west of Freyung, the Wolfsteiner ...
river.
History
Wolfstein Castle was built as a fortification by the Bishop of Passau,
Wolfger von Erla
Wolfger von Erla, known in Italian as Volchero (c. 1140 – 23 January 1218), was the Bishop of Passau from 1191 until 1204 and Patriarch of Aquileia thereafter until his death.
He was renowned in his own time as a diplomat and peacemaker. He part ...
, around 1200. Before that, the surrounding land had been ceded to the bishops of Passau by Emperor Henry VI in 1193. In 1301, a place is first mentioned in a document as ''Purchstol zu Wolferstein und ein Wald dazu'', later Freyung. The castle itself served as a fortification, administrative base and episcopal hunting lodge. When the
Prince-Bishopric of Passau
The Diocese of Passau is a Roman Catholic diocese in Germany that is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.Austria. Three years later, the area went to the Kingdom of Bavaria after the Treaty of Pressburg. In 1806, the Bavarian ''Landgerichtsbezirk'' of Wolfstein was established with its headquarters at Schloss Wolfstein in the municipality (''Landgemeinde'') of Ort. It belonged to the
Lower Danube Circle
The Lower Danube Circle or Under Danube CircleBell, James. ''A System of Geography, Popular and Scientific: Or A Physical, Political and Statistical Account of the World and its Various Divisions'', Volume 1. Glasgow: Fullarton, 1832, p. 356. (ge ...
(which became Lower Bavaria in 1838). In 1862, the new ''Landgerichtsbezirk'' of Waldkirchen was established from municipalities of the ''Landgerichtsbezirke'' of Wolfstein and Wegscheid and the former ''Landgericht'' of Wolfstein was renamed to the ''Landgericht'' of Freyung. Both ''Landgerichtsbezirke'' belonged to the ''Bezirksamt'' of Wolfstein. In 1938, the ''Bezirke'' were renamed ''Landkreise''. Since the incorporation of the municipality of Ort on 1 April 1954, Wolfstein Castle has stood on the territory of the town of Freyung. In 1972 the county of Wolfstein was dissolved.
Present day
The ''schloss'' ensemble includes a mighty tower house, built between 1199 and 1204 and 1590, two low wings with arcades, dating to the late 16th and early 17th century, and the castle wall with closed quadrangular courtyard. Since 1982 it has housed the county art collection, ''Galerie Wolfstein'', with its collection of contemporary art from Eastern Bavaria; since 1989 it has also been home to the Hunting and Fishing Museum (''Jagd- und Fischereimuseum'')JAGD LAND FLUSS Museum in Schloss Wolfstein 741 kB of the county. This was redesigned and reopened in 2014 under the name ''Jagd Land Fluss'' ("Hunt Country River"). Directly in front of the castle is are the council offices for Freyung-Grafenau.
Literature
*Peter Dillinger: ''Schloss Wolfstein. Von einer Schutzburg zur Kunstgalerie''. In: ''Der Bayerwald''. 101, 2, 2009, , pp. 13–18.
*Paul Praxl: ''Die Geschichte des Schlosses Wolfstein''. s. n., Freyung, 1991.