Mespelbrunn Moated Castle

tip-no-205 | © Bert Schwarz 2022

Mespelbrunn Castle in Just A Minute

60

Production : logo © 2025

Mespelbrunn Castle, a moated castle, is located between Aschaffenburg and Würzburg in a remote side valley of the Elsava Valley in the Spessart region. The castle has been in the same family since the early 15th century and is known worldwide for its picturesque appearance and romantic location.

Spessart, Wiesen, Hügel, Wald | © Bert Schwarz 2024

The castle is open to visitors. The tour takes about 35-40 minutes and the last tour starts at about 4:20 p.m.

Burg, Burghof | © Bert Schwarz 2024

The café in the courtyard is only open to visitors to the moated castle. In addition to coffee and tea specialties, I recommend the homemade cakes and tarts – and there is a small but fine selection of dishes à la carte.

The famous wild boar bratwurst combines everything I expect from a good bratwurst – from animals that have not been kept in factory farming.

Burg, Einfahrt, Torbogen | © Bert Schwarz 2024

On May 1, 1412, Archbishop Johann of Mainz gave the knight Hamann Echter the site at Espelborn for his loyal service as the electoral prince's forester. At the time, the Spessart was a wild, undeveloped forest. Hussites used it as a place of retreat during the Hussite Wars, terrifying travelers and residents. Around 1427, Knight Hamann Echter's son, of the same name, therefore built a solid house with walls and towers around his father's unfortified pond house.

The following generations used the more peaceful times to transform the defiant moated castle into a dreamy Renaissance palace.

Burg | © Bert Schwarz 2023

The castle owes its present appearance mainly to Peter Echter von Mespelbrunn and his wife Gertraud von Adelsheim , who carried out the reconstruction over a period of 18 years until 1569.

Burg, Möbel, Sideboard | © Bert Schwarz 2023

Even the large number of children of Peter Echters does not help to preserve the male line of the Echters. The Thirty Years' War also claims its victims in this family.

In 1648, the last of the Echter family, Maria Ottilia, married Philipp Ludwig von Ingelheim from the Rheingau. To this day, the family name is Counts of Ingelheim, called Echter of Mespelbrunn. The family lives in the southern part of the palace, while the northern part was opened to the public shortly after the end of World War II.

I think this castle is a real hidden gem that will surprise you.

logo
About tips-4-trips

The tips-4-trips travel guide is the digital information brand in the SCHWARZfilm-Media portfolio.
The comprehensive travel guide to Western Europe's most beautiful places looks back on more than 30 years of documentary filmmaking, while the online portal itself celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2025.
t4t is available in English, French and German and offers detailed content, gathered from first-hand experience, to inspire travelers from all over the world. All aspects, from city trips to campsites, from villages to golf and wellness resorts, from attractions to cultural events, are covered, and there are also offbeat stories and suggestions for adventurous travelers.
The site is continuously updated and welcomes an average of 5 million users per month.

Get in touch
  • Gertraudenweg 8,
    D-97845 Neustadt
    Germany
  • +49 9393 999-71
  • office@tvimweb.de
Follow Us