Forts, Castles and Palaces

A thousand years ago, powerful lords had their seats in the Nordgau. Important trade routes and borders needed to be protected, secured, and guarded with mighty walls. That is why there are many castles in the Amberg-Sulzbacher region, some wonderfully preserved and still in use, some in silent ruin, hidden in a forest or towering among the crests of the Jura. A particularly impressive, distinctive feature of the Burgenland Oberpfalz are the so-called Hammerschlösser, the Hammer Palaces. Like pearls on a string, they line the rivers and bear witness to the former riches of the Hammer Lords. Heringnohe, Schmidmühlen, and Leidersdorf are a few examples. The most impressive, however, is undoubtedly the Hammerschloss in Theuern.