Stepperg Castle

Middle wing with side wings from the 19th century

Stepperg Castle is a three-wing complex open to the west, located on the edge of Stepperg , a district of Rennertshofen in the district of Neuburg-Schrobenhausen . As Hofmarkschloss it was the manor of Hofmark Stepperg.

history

Stepperg has always been in the ducal, from 788 royal office of Neuburg an der Donau. The sovereigns were accordingly royal feudal men, for example the Kalendine zu Neuburg from 1197 to 1214, the Pappenheimers from 1214 to 1247 and the Wittelsbachers from 1247 . Even the Pappenheimers set up ministerials and founded a Hofmark in Stepperg. These ministerials founded the local noble family of the Lords of Stepperg , the first of whom was Berthold von Stettenberg in 1214. This sex existed until 1335 (Heinricht von Stettenberg zu Berolzheim ).

In 1350 the falconers followed as lords of the castle and in 1400 the Hausner, who in 1526 finally sold the Hofmark Stepperg including the castle, administrative building and Donauurfahr to their cousin Mang Emershofer, carer in Niederschönenfeld . From 1551 Sebastian Pemerle, Kastner von Pfalzgraf Ottheinrich , was the owner. In 1561 he sold the castle and Hofmark to Hans Jakob von Welser .

The three-storey main building (middle wing) of today's castle was built by the Welsers at the end of the 16th century. When Anna Welser married a member of the Italian aristocratic family De Servi, the barons of Servi became owners. The Servi were high officials at the Neuburger Hof for a long time. In 1789 Karl Philipp von Servi died without any descendants. Sebastian von Staader, bailiff in Neuburg, inherited the castle.

In 1801 the elector's widow Maria Leopoldine , who married Count Ludwig von Arco in 1804 , bought the Stepperg estate. Leopoldine's two sons, Aloys and Maximilian , spent their early childhood there. Through improved agricultural use of the land, the princely landowner was able to significantly increase the yield and make high profits on the markets.

The two wing structures with square towers at the west ends were added in 1806 and rebuilt by Gabriel von Seidl in 1907 :

A garden room with delicately colored frescoed ceilings from around 1830, which corresponds to a cabinet on the upper floor of the right side wing, which once formed part of a hall, is particularly charming. One wants to know that this cabinet was specially set up for the visit of Empress Marie Luise when she stayed in Stepperg on her way home to Vienna after the fall of Napoleon.

The castle is surrounded by a wonderful park, a creation by Friedrich von Sckell , with old trees and a wall from the 18th and 19th centuries. Century. The Hermess sculpture in the park is by Ludwig von Schwanthaler .

The granddaughter of the Electress, Countess Sophie von Arco-Stepperg, inherited the Stepperg castle and estate from her father Aloys. She married Count Ernst von Moy de Sons , who came from the French nobility . The castle is still owned by the counts of the Moy family. The palace and the landscape park are not open to the public.

The area can be booked for film and photo shoots. At the beginning of 2009, the ZDF crime thriller Abducted , which was broadcast on March 3, 2009, was filmed in the castle .