Schloss Neidstein is a castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

 located in the Oberpfalz region of Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, in the municipality of Etzelwang

Etzelwang

Etzelwang is a municipality in the district of Amberg-Sulzbach in Bavaria in Germany.Places of interest in Etzelwang include Schloss Neidstein, a castle once owned by actor Nicolas Cage....

. It was the seat of a Hofmark (a lower legal entity) during the Palatinate-Sulzbach

Palatinate-Sulzbach

Palatinate-Sulzbach was the name of two separate states of the Holy Roman Empire located in modern Amberg-Sulzbach, Bavaria, Germany.-Palatinate-Sulzbach :...

 period (16th-18th centuries). The castle with its 165 hectares of forest and meadows is now part of the Schergenbuck reserve. It was owned by actor Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...

, whose mother is Bavarian, between July 2006 and early 2009.

Building

The ruins of the original Schloss Neidstein are located on top of the peak above the New Castle. The New Castle — an elongated tract with the east gate and a round tower in the west — was designed by Jobst Brand(t) and completed in 1513.

Today's appearance, especially that of the gables, is due to a renovation between 1855 to 1860. Several wall reliefs that show themes from the Old Testament

Old Testament

The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...

 were carved by Georg Schweiger (17th century) from Amberg

Amberg

Amberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. Population: 44,756 .- History :...

.

Library and Archives

The castle's extensive archive

Archive

An archive is a collection of historical records, or the physical place they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the function of an organization...

s reach back to the 16th century, and have been available at the state archives in Amberg since early July 2006. A substantial part of the archives was supposedly used to accommodate horses of French troops passing through in 1796.

The whereabouts of the precious castle's library were not known until an article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , short F.A.Z., also known as the FAZ, is a national German newspaper, founded in 1949. It is published daily in Frankfurt am Main. The Sunday edition is the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung .F.A.Z...

(28 October 2006, p. 48) announced that a large amount of literature would be auctioned off in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

in November 2006. Since some of these books were offered in online antique book shops soon thereafter, it is likely that the Neidstein library as a whole is lost.