Both princely residence and massive fortress, Plassenburg Castle is one of Bavaria’s most impressive historical buildings. The »Schöner Hof« (Beautiful Courtyard) with its richly decorated arcades has all the atmosphere of a German Renaissance court. The exterior fortifications testify to the effort required to remain politically independent in the Confessional Age. The power and pretensions of the burgraves of Nuremberg and the margraves of Brandenburg are nowhere as evident as in this castle. From 1338/40 to 1791, Plassenburg Castle was a ruling seat of the Franconian Hohenzollerns, and after this was a Prussian fortress until 1806.

The magnificent complex was built in its present form from 1557 for Margrave Georg Friedrich by the architect Caspar Vischer, after the original building on this site had been destroyed in the Second Margraves’ War. In place of the small castle which had been founded before 1135 by the Counts of Andechs, Vischer created a representative four-winged complex, fortified on the side facing the hill with massive bastions. Today Plassenburg Castle, situated high above Kulmbach, is a cultural centre of the Obermainland region. After destruction of the fortifications by order of Napoleon in 1806, the castle served until 1928 as a gaol and workhouse – it is now used for exhibitions, museums and special collections.

The Free State of Bavaria and the town of Kulmbach today maintain four museums under one roof:

• The Hohenzollerns in Franconia museum is located in the historical rooms dating from the 16th century with their spectacular interiors and furnishings.

• The Frederick the Great Army Museum has Prussian weapons and military items dating from 1700 to 1806.

• The Deutsche Zinnfigurenmuseum (German Museum of Pewter Figures) has the largest collection of pewter figures in Germany, including the diorama with the most figures in the world: »The destruction of Kulmbach on St. Conrad’s Day 1553«.

• In the Landschaftsmuseum Obermain (Museum of the Upper Main Region) the history and natural history of the town and the region are documented with a wide variety of exhibits and displays