While we were on our honeymoon in Austria and Germany, Matt and I tried to see some unique and off-the-beaten-path places, and Burghausen Castle is one of the most unique palaces I’ve seen. At over 1,000 meters, Burghausen Castle is the longest castle complex in the world! I’ve been to castles like Versailles and lots of different castles in Denmark, but Burghausen Castle in upper Bavaria is made up of lots of buildings connected by a walled complex with towers. And people actually live in a lot of the buildings in Burghausen, which must be pretty cool! If you want to visit a unique castle in Germany with beautiful buildings and incredible views, Burghausen is for you 🙂
History of Burghausen Castle
Burghausen Castle can actually be dated back to the Bronze Age! Throughout the 11th century, the castle was passed between dukes and counts in Germany. The castle complex was built up more during the 13th century under Duke Henry XIII. The castle sits on a hill (which means it has great views of the area below!), and the complex was built up and extended across the entire hill through to the 16th century.
Burghausen Castle is one of the best preserved medieval fortresses. Its most famous resident was a princess named Hedwig in the 1500s. She was from Poland and was the wife of Duke Georg the Rich, and their wedding was so famous that it’s reenacted every four years as the Landshut Wedding pageant!
Who wants to live in the castle complex?
Views of Burghausen
Because Burghausen Castle sits on a hill, you can get great views of the town of Burghausen and the Salzach River. The church tower is St. Jakob’s, and it was built in the 12th century in the Romanesque style while the tower is a “double onion” Baroque style. Fires damaged it over the years, but it’s been repaired and partially reconstructed.
Because Burghausen Castle sits on top of the hill, you can get views on both sides of the hill! Downtown Burghausen can be seen on one side, and you can get views of the river and the countryside on the other. It was raining when we first arrived so it was pretty overcast, but on a sunny day, you can probably get better views of the countryside in the distance!
We got to Burghausen Castle right when it opened, so as you can see, it was pretty empty! (The drizzly morning probably helped that, too!) If you want to have the whole castle complex to yourself, I definitely recommend going first thing in the morning. When we were leaving, there were large groups of tourists starting to come in.
Burghausen Castle is one of the most unique castles I’ve seen, and since it was built up over a few centuries, it was cool to see such a variety of architecture! If you’re looking for some different things to see in Germany, I definitely recommend visiting the longest castle complex in the world to check out the castle and get pretty views of Burghausen 🙂
Very cool photos! I love the fact that we take the same pictures of interesting details. 😉
Thanks! 🙂
Such beautiful photos! Like a fairytale!
It really is! 🙂
I had never heard of this castle but it looks very picturesque and I love the fact that people actually live in some of the buildings!
I know, I’m so jealous of them!!
How lucky you were to nearly have the castle all to yourself. The castle grounds and surroundings are absolutely gorgeous. I would love to stay there for the night, the atmosphere must be something else!
It would be so cool to stay there overnight!
What beautiful picyures of all the castles! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you! 🙂
I learned so much after reading this! I’d never heard about the Burghausen Castle before and now it’s added to my bucket list!
I hope you’re able to go! 🙂
What an awesome looking castle! Everything is so ornate and we’ll preserved too.
Yes it’s in great shape!
And you can see Austria on the other side of the river!
Yes you can!