The roots of the House of Wittelsbach, which ruled Bavaria between 1180 and 1918, can be found in Aichach, near Augsburg, in Bavarian Swabia. The castle which gave them their name, Burg "Wittilinesbach", which is located in what is now the Oberwittelsbach district of Aichach, was first mentioned in 1115. As a result of the lord of the castle, Count Palatine Otto VIII. von Wittelsbach, murdering the German king in 1208, his castle was razed in 1209. On the castle hill in Oberwittelsbach, you can find the Church of St Mary on the castle ruins, as well as a neo-gothic national monument and a memorial stone to the Wittelsbach Castle. The "Sisi Castle" lies just a short walk away in Unterwittelsbach. The water castle is named after the nickname of the later Empress Elisabeth of Austria. Her father, Duke Max, acquired the castle in 1838 in Bavaria. It is said that the young member of the Wittelsbach family spent quiet days in the "Sisi Castle" as a child. Her father also converted the nearby Kühbach monastic estate into a castle in 1839: Nowadays, it is a beer garden that draws in the punters.
You can trace the footsteps of Elisabeth and her father on two walking trails and a cycle trail; part of the "Sisi Tour". With the Lauschtour "Around the Sisi Castle in Aichach – Princess Elisabeth and the legendary Wittelsbach Clan", you can discover the history of the legendary Empress and her ducal father, the "Sisi Castle" and the grand history of Ober- and Unterwittelsbach. Between these two districts of Aichach you can find a historical trail featuring five different stations of artworks, explaining the history of the Wittelsbach Dynasty in and around Aichach. Meanwhile, an annual exhibition in the "Sisi Castle" is dedicated to the life of Elisabeth.
Klausenweg 1
86551 Aichach
