The
Giechburg is a partly reconstructed hilltop castle located in the town of
Scheßlitz in
Bavaria, Germany. There was a hilltop fort at the site from at least
Neolithic times, and the castle enters written history in 1125. In 1390, it entered the possession of the
prince-bishops of Bamberg, and its history thereafter is closely allied to the bishopric and the city of
Bamberg. The castle was destroyed and rebuilt several times over the subsequent centuries before undergoing extensive redevelopment between 1599 and 1609. It became less useful to the prince-bishops over the subsequent centuries however, and eventually fell into ruin. After a period in the 19th and 20th centuries in the hands of the von Giech family, the castle was eventually acquired by the district of Bamberg in 1971 and reconstructed as a conference and hospitality centre. This 2021 aerial photograph shows the Giechburg viewed from the north, with the village of Peulendorf in the background.
Photograph credit: Reinhold Möller