Stein Castle, Medieval castle and brewery in Traunreut, Germany.
Stein Castle is a castle complex in Traunreut, Bavaria, made up of three connected parts: an upper house built on a rock face, a cave fortress carved into the stone, and a lower house within the village below. The three sections together form a single site that today houses a private school, museum areas, and a working brewery.
The site is thought to have Celtic or Roman origins, and it first appeared in written records in 1135 as a residence for knights. Over the centuries it changed hands and purposes many times before a brewery was established there in the early 20th century.
The brewery operating within the walls follows Bavarian brewing traditions that date back to the early 20th century. Visitors walking through the grounds can see how the old stone buildings and the working brewery share the same space in an unusual way.
Some parts of the complex are used as a private school and cannot be visited without prior arrangement, so it is worth contacting the site before you go. Set aside enough time to move between the different sections, as the layout spreads across rock, cave, and village levels.
The cave sections of the complex provide winter shelter for five bat species, a role that was officially noted in 2016 when the pug-nosed bat was recorded there. The underground chambers stay at a steady temperature year-round, which makes them a natural refuge for wildlife without any deliberate effort.
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