Pfalz, Medieval castle in Forchheim, Germany
The Pfalz is a medieval castle in the old town of Forchheim, Bavaria, made up of several wings arranged around a courtyard. The building has protective walls, a moat, and a series of halls and rooms that once served as a bishop's residence and now house an archaeological museum.
The castle was built around 1400 by the bishops of Bamberg, who used it as their main base outside of the cathedral city. Over the following centuries, the building changed hands and functions several times, reflecting the shifting power in the region.
The east wing still carries traces of medieval wall paintings with biblical scenes that visitors can see up close during a tour. These images give a sense of how rooms in a bishop's residence were once decorated to impress guests.
The building sits in the heart of the old town and is easy to reach on foot. Guided tours are available and help make sense of the different rooms and their history.
One of the interior rooms still has a medieval stone heating system from the late medieval period, built to store warmth inside the living space. This type of installation was rare for its time and shows how carefully the castle was designed for year-round use.
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