Schloss Eysölden, Castle complex in Thalmässing, Germany

Schloss Eysölden is a castle complex in Thalmässing with four wings arranged in late Gothic style, forming a trapezoidal shape roughly 40 by 30 meters. The courtyard displays half-timbering and a gallery, while the exterior walls retain original keyhole loopholes in the western towers.

The Lords of Eysölden controlled the castle in the 12th century as ministers under the Counts of Stein. The Schmoll family acquired the property in 1279 and retained ownership for generations.

In 1685 Hans Haidt acquired the castle in exchange and received the Taferngerechtigkeit, the right to serve food and drink; he moved Eysölden's lower tavern into the castle. The building has remained in private, non-noble hands since then. The former Wirtschaftsgebäude, the old farm buildings, were destroyed by a major fire in 1956.

The castle is a private residence and not open for tours; the former tavern rooms are not visitable either. Visitors see the complex from the street and footpath in Eysölden, where the trapezoidal outline and the two western corner towers with keyhole loopholes are visible. The site lies in the Thalmässing municipality of the Roth district, Bavaria.

The two western corner towers flank the full-width residential block and keep their original keyhole-shaped loopholes. The two eastern corner towers were demolished at some point; the north-eastern one was rebuilt on its old foundations. The southern gate tower that once held the entrance has been torn down, so the courtyard is now reached without passing a gate.