The best walks and hikes around Parsberg

Lupburg Castle is the ruin of a hilltop castle located in the town of Lupburg in the Neumarkt district of the Upper Palatinate region of Bavaria. The site is listed as an archaeological monument under file number D-3-6836-0065 in the Bavarian Atlas as "archaeological findings in the area of the medieval castle and the early modern palace of Lupburg." It is also listed as a protected architectural monument of Lupburg under file number D-3-73-143-4.

Parish Church of St. Barbara The hall church, renovated in 1937, consists of a main nave and a northern side aisle, a recessed choir closed on three sides in the east, and a church tower in the west, the core of which was built in 1599, which was extended by two octagonal floors, divided by arched friezes and covered with an onion dome crowned with a lantern. The top floor houses the tower clock and the bell cage. The main nave is spanned inside by a wooden barrel vault that is integrated into the roof structure. The interior is particularly impressive due to the wooden ceiling and the beautiful baroque altars. The church furnishings include a high altar built in 1788, decorated with rocaille, which is flanked by statues of the princely apostles Peter and Paul. The martyrdom of Saint Barbara is depicted on the altarpiece. The Marian altar on the left shows the Mother of God standing on the globe, crushing the snake, the symbol of evil, under her feet; in her left hand she holds the white lily, a symbol of purity and love. The altarpiece shows a portrait of the Sacred Heart of Mary framed by two putti. In the right side altar we see a portrait of St. Joseph, the foster father of Christ, with the baby Jesus in his arms, and two putti at Joseph's feet, one of them again with the white lily. In the altarpiece there is a portrait of the Sacred Heart of Jesus framed by two putti. At the entrance there is an epitaph of Christoph von Parsberg, it dates from 1461 and shows the knight in full tournament armor with plate armor, sword and lance. The organ was built in 2009 by Josef Maier from Hergensweiler near Lindau. Source: Extracts from www.wikipedia.de

Lupburg Castle Ludewicus Luppurch is first mentioned as a witness in a document from the Wessobrunn monastery in 1142. In the 12th century, the Lupburgs exercised the bailiwick over the important Regensburg monastery of St. Emmeram, and large parts of their property were on monastery property. They also had escort rights on the King's Road in the Laber Valley and thus also held high jurisdiction. Despite their high position, the Lupburgs did not manage to form a permanent and closed area of rule, even though Konrad von Lupburg was even titled count in 1185. The last representative of the family, another Konrad von Lupburg, was elected bishop of Regensburg in 1296. The castle came to the Bishopric of Regensburg in 1300, and the Bavarian duke's claims were settled by Bishop Konrad with a compensation payment. In 1387, Lupburg was then purchased by the Wittelsbachs. In 1395, Duke John of Bavaria-Munich pawned it to the knight Hans from nearby Parsberg, in whose family it remained after that. The Wittelsbach dukes of Palatinate-Neuburg tried to take possession of the Lupburg from 1530 onwards. However, there was disagreement about how much they should pay to redeem the pledge. They even claimed that they were entitled to a payment instead, and the dispute dragged on for decades until the emperor in Vienna intervened and the redemption was set at 14,000 guilders - in favour of the Parsberg family. From 1572 until the mediatisation in 1806, the Duchy of Palatinate-Meiburg maintained a custodianship there. The castle itself was destroyed by the Swedes in 1632 and rebuilt in 1710 - but only the lower castle. After secularisation, the Lupburg became private property and fell into disrepair. In the 20th century, the public sector took over the complex; more recently, it has been extensively renovated and the lower castle partially rebuilt. The courtyard of the lower castle is surrounded in a horseshoe shape by castle buildings from the 16th and 17th centuries: to the south there is a well-preserved residential building and the rebuilt gatehouse, to the west the main building, which has recently been expanded and roofed, and to the north a large storage building. On the rock several meters above the courtyard, only the foundations of the keep on the access side, which was built from smooth, large limestone blocks, remain. Source: Extracts from www.burgenseite.de

The castle Christmas also takes place here. The program is available here: https://www.parsberger-burgweihnacht.de/

A historical, folklore and contemporary history collection covering around 1200 square meters shows the development of the region and the lives of the people from prehistory to modern times. The didactic preparation and classification of the exhibits in historical contexts make history come alive and justify the supra-regional importance of the museum.

First mentioned in documents in 1205, the 550-meter-high hilltop castle has been destroyed, rebuilt and expanded. The Upper Castle with its two distinctive onion domes was built at the end of the 16th century, and after the Thirty Years' War the Lower Castle was added. Once the ancestral seat of the Parsberg family, it was placed under the control of the Electoral Court Chamber of Munich in 1799 and became the property of the Free State of Bavaria in 1918. In 1974, the city of Parsberg rented the property. Today it is used for representation purposes and is inhabited. A castle museum with folk and local history collections has been set up in the Lower Castle. The castle complex with its modern extension is freely accessible and offers great views of the surrounding area.

The two striking onion domes of the Upper Castle are Parsberg’s landmark.

From the bench you can see far to the north.