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Schloss Mespelbrunn
Schloss Mespelbrunn
The castle is closed during winter.
Opens
Spring 2025
Opening hours
9:30 am to 5 pm.
Last entry at 4:30pm
Adults 6,50€
Groups of 20 or more.: 6,00€ p.P.
Schoolchildren, students, wheelchair users: 3,50€
Children under 6 years: free
School classes up to 25 children (including 2 supervisors): 90€
Only cash, no card payment possible.
The moated castle lies hidden in a secretive Spessart valley, between Frankfurt am Main and Würzburg. The castle was built in the Renaissance style and celebrated its 600th anniversary in 2012. Due to its hidden location, the castle survived all wars unscathed and has been preserved in its original condition. Castle Mespelbrunn is still privately owned. Since the beginning of the 1950s, the owners have been involved in preserving the castle as a memorial and making it accessible to the general public at the same time.
The castle owes its current appearance largely to Peter Echter von Mespelbrunn and his wife Gertraud von Adelsheim, who carried out the reconstruction for 18 years until 1569. The confession of the two can be read above a side portal:
Marital love in God and faith so true,
Brings happiness and blessings anew.
We trusted in God with diligence and might,
To build this house for our own delight.
Over time, the family produced significant offspring. The most well-known was Julius Echter, who, as Prince-Bishop in Würzburg and Duke in Franconia, founded the Juliusspital and the University of Würzburg in 1576 and 1583, respectively. He also built the mighty fortress of Marienberg and shaped the church architecture of Franconia with pointed towers and gabled Renaissance buildings.