View of Burghaus en Cas tle . Photo cour tes y o f Burghaus en Cas tle .

Burghausen Castle: The Longest Castle in Europemonkeysandmountains.com /burghausen-castle- longest-castle- in-europe

Until recently I had never heard of Burghausen Castle. This is rather surprising when youconsider that I consider myself a cast le af icionado.

With a claim to fame of being the longest castle in Europe, measuring in at an impressive 1043m long, and one of thelongest castles in the world. And get this – it’s located just over 110km east from Munich where I live. I was definitelyremiss, but upon hearing about it I was there the next day!

Inner cour tyard o f Burghaus en Cas tle

Not only is Burghausen Castle the longest castle in Europe, it’s also a magnificent example of a late medievalfortification that is mostly in tact. Pretty impressive when you consider that it dates back to 1025 and was used by theDukes of Lower Bavaria until the late Middle Ages.

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addition to being considered the strongest fortress in the country, it also served as a court for the duchesses and was

One of the 6 cour tyards o f Burghaus en Cas tle .

home to their children, where they were also educated. Being so sturdy, it’s not surprising that the castle was also wherethe Dukes kept their abundant stashes of gold and silver. Duke George the Rich wasn’t called “rich” for nothing!

Despite being the longest castle in Europe, Burghausen Castle isn’t all castle, it’s connected by six courtyards, with theactual castle making up a relatively small part of the 1043m.

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favorite part of visiting Burghausen Castle were the views over the town of Burghausen – beautiful!

The

View over the town o f Burghaus en from the cas tle .

TheState

Cast le Museum is OK, but I was expect ing more f rom the longest cast le in Europe. Only a small part of thecastle is open to tourists and compared to other castle tours it was just OK for me. Having said that though, if you likeart there is a large collection of huge Gothic panel paintings that illustrate the history of Bavaria. And entrance is only€4.50 for a self- guided tour.

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Drawbr idge to the cas tle .

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summary, I would def initely recommend a visit to Burghausen Cast le. Even J.P. my German husband who onlyvisits castles when I drag him thought “it was nice” – high praise coming from him! It’s a medieval architectural gem,unique in how long it is and very impressive – at least from the outside. Insider t ravel t ip: Go across the river for thebest views of Burghausen Castle. I will add it to my list of favorite castles in southern Germany, of whichNeuschwanstein Castle , the castle that Disney was modelled after did not make the list. The town of Burghausen is alsoworth wandering around. I especially enjoyed the colourful houses in downtown Burghausen.

Know Before You Go to Burghausen Castle:

The castle is open daily except on Shrove Tuesday, December 24, 25, 31 and January 1st.

It’s open from 9:00 – 6:00pm April – September and from 10:00 – 4:00 October – March

It’s free to walk around the castle. A visit to the State Castle Museum costs €4.50 for a self- guided tour.

You can reach Burghausen Castle by public transportation. It’s just over a 2 hour train ride from Munich to theBurghausen main station and then you take a local bus to the actual castle. The cheapest way to go is by theBavaria ticket, available for purchase at the ticket machines.

About Laurel

Laurel Robbins is a free-spirited adventurer, award-winning travel blogger at Monkeys and MountainsAdventure Travel Blog. Many hats, one travel obsessed Canadian in Germany.