Oberau, Historic hermitage complex in Bad Staffelstein, Germany.

The Oberau hermitage sits at 255 meters elevation on a peninsula between the Middle Lake and the Main River, featuring traditional Bavarian architecture with a historic Herrenhaus and surrounding rural landscape.

Oberau was first recorded in 1400, when the Bamberg citizens Conrad, Laurentius and Balthasar Haller held the farm "in der Awe prope Staffelstein" as a fief from the Bishop of Bamberg. In 1422 Bishop Friedrich exempted the farms "in der Obernaw" from his court at Lichtenfels. In 1866 Friedrich Ernst August Freiherr von Dungern and Auguste Souchay acquired the estate with her father's financial support and had the Schloss built in 1872–73. Gravel extraction from 1961 to 1975 created the Mittelsee around the farm.

The name Oberau derives from "Awe", a meadow by water, recorded as "Obern Aw" in the parish of Ebensfeld in 1612. The estate is still a working farm with holiday apartments and a campsite on the Mittelsee, and a private cemetery on the grounds holds members of the Freiherr von Dungern family and their servants, including Otto von Dungern-Oberau.

Visitors can access Oberau via regional roads connecting to Bad Staffelstein, with accommodations available in nearby guesthouses and the site offering opportunities for hiking, cycling, and exploring the Franconian countryside.

The historic Schloss Oberau, built in 1872 with Renaissance influences, now functions as a vacation center while maintaining its private Dungern family cemetery and original estate buildings.