Did you ever think to yourself when you’ve seen some massive castle that the duke or baron that built it had any idea that it would one day be a museum? I’m guessing that the original owners of Burg Parsberg in the Upper Palatinate town of Parsberg didn’t have a clue.
Bad for them. Good for us. Now we get to see what an early 13th century medieval castle looks like on the inside. Sorta, ’cause the Swedes destroyed the original back in the mid-1600’s during the Thirty Years’ War — so what you’re about to visit didn’t come along until after 1648.
Ah, doesn’t matter, because you’re here to see the Folk & Ethnographic Museum housed within the Parsberg Castle.
Inasmuch as this is Bavaria, you don’t want to spend all your time indoors. You could spend some time underground, by the way. The Caves Trail is a hiking trail that runs from the King Otto Cave to the Pilgrimage Church of St. Wolfgang in neighboring Velburg.
Please, it’s not a big trail — only about 7km long. It won’t take you but three hours to finish. Plenty of time to hike the Schlachtschüssel Weg, or bike the 30km Vier-Bacherl-Weg.
Pay attention to the scenery, this is the Schwarze Laber as well as the Franconian Jura region.
Try not to do any of this until later in the day on Wednesdays, since that’s when the Weekly Market runs from 8am – noon. On Friday afternoons is the Farmer’s Market where they sell the freshest cheeses, sausages, honey, and even eggs. Heck, that’s not even the half of it. ;-)
Now that you’ve got some more energy, you can go see the old church in the village of Darshofen; or the St. George Church in Kerschhofen. Even though Kerschhofen only has 44 residents, St. George’s holds a couple of fairs a year — and you’re always welcome.
Just as you’re welcome to swim at the Wellenbad Jura Mare — a Waves Pool where you better know how to swim since the waves can get up to two meters high.
Hmm, I wonder if the ruling aristocracy of Parsberg ever thought they’d have one of those?
