Burg Prunn would be a typical small German castle, relegated to relative obscurity, save one thing - its location
Burg Prunn would be a typical small German castle, relegated to relative obscurity, save one thing - its location. The castle has been perched for nearly one thousand years on an outcropping of rock towering more than 300 feet above the Altmuehl River near Riedenburg in Lower Bavaria. The sheer beauty of the location rivals the seaside castles of Dunluce in Co. Antrim, Ireland and Dunnottar in Grampian, Scotland. The castle, thus protected on three sides by sheer cliffs, is first mentioned in 1037 as being owned by Wernher of Prunn, and then 8 years later by Adalbert of Prunn. In 1147 Herr von Laaber of Praiteneck is in possession of Burg Prunn. The castle, consisting of the old Bergfried [donjon] and surrounding buildings, now gone, is held by the barons of Laaber and Breitenbrunn until 1288, when the castle is sold to Duke Ludwig [Louis III] of Bavaria. .
In 1338 the Teutonic Knights of Frauenberg bought the castle, holding it until 1567. In 1491 the Knights sided with the Lowlerbund and the Duke of Bavaria destroyed Burg Prunn. The castle was rebuilt and held by the Knights until they were destroyed about 1567, when Burg Prunn reverted to Albert V, Duke of Bavaria. He entrusted the castle on to Graf [Count] Joachim von Ortenburg, despite his dismay at von Ortenburg's embracing of Protestantism. The count, known as "Jack the Joyous" brought to Prunn his ornamented 1230 manuscript of the famous German epic, the Nibelungenlied (Song of the Nibelungs), now in the National Library of Bavaria [see right]. In 1570 Duke Albert gave the castle to Karl Köckh von Mauerstetten, who remodeled parts of the castle. In 1672 Burg Prunn passed to the Jesuits, who added rococo ornamentation to the interior. With the dissolution of the Jesuit Orders in 1773, Prunn became of property of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem (Hospitalers). With the dissolution of the Hospitalers, Burg Prunn became the property of the state of Lower Bavaria in 1822.
The white horse painted on the side of the castle is said to be the heraldic figure of the Teutonic Knights of Frauenberg, but there is another explanation as well - THE WHITE HORSE OF PRUNN: Once upon a time there was a rich knight at Prunn who had no son - only a beautiful daughter. The old man feared his fortune would fall into the hands of an unscrupulous stranger by marriage to his daughter. So as young knights flocked to the castle from far and wide to woo his daughter, her father set an arduous task for them: "Ride around my castle at the bottom of the wall and you shall marry my daughter". All the knights that took up the challenge crashed to their deaths at the precipice near the southeast corner. Eventually a young, stately knight appeared and rendered helpless by the young damsel's beauty, took up the lethal task. However, as he rode to the edge of the precipice, he saw a note dangling from a string. Looking up he saw the fair maiden who gave him a shy smile and a wink. The note explained that there was a path at the base of the castle, but he would need to reconnoiter first to ride safely. After climbing down on a rope and finding the way across the crevice, he reappeared the next day and successfully circled the castle. The old knight reluctantly allowed the marriage to his daughter's delight and they lived happily ever after -- and to commemorate the risky ride, the young knight painted a picture of his brave white horse on the wall of the castle!
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