Possenhofen Castle was built in 1536 by Jakob Rosenbusch. It was destroyed during the
Thirty Years' War, then rebuilt. The palace passed through various owners before being bought in 1834 by
Maximilian, Duke in Bavaria, father of
Duchess Elisabeth in Bavaria, later the
Empress of Austria. Possenhofen was used as the family's summer residence, with their winters spent at
Herzog-Max-Palais in
Munich. The palace served as a seat of the
Dukes in Bavaria, a junior branch of the
House of Wittelsbach, until it became derelict after 1920.
Duke Luitpold Emanuel sold Possenhofen, as well as
Biederstein Castle in Munich-Schwabing, in order to build his late romantic
Schloss Ringberg. Possenhofen subsequently served various functions—children's home, hospital, even a motorcycle repair shop—until being restored and converted to condominiums in the 1980s. It is not open to the public. == References ==