Laufen Castle (Germany)

Laufen Castle
Schloss Laufen
Laufen in Germany
Laufen Castle
Coordinates 47°56′19″N 12°56′12.34″E / 47.93861°N 12.9367611°E / 47.93861; 12.9367611
Type Castle
Site information
Condition Intact
Site history
Built 15th Century (15th Century)
In use 15th Century - 1945
Events Second World War
For the Nazi POW camp, see Oflag VII-C
For the German town and municipality of Laufen, Germany, see Laufen, Germany

Laufen Castle (German: Schloss Laufen is a square-shaped castle overlooking the Salzach river that was built for the Archbishop of Salzburg in the 15th Century. The castle is located in the town of Laufen in the German state of Bavaria. During the Second World War, it was the site of Oflag VII-C (a prisoner-of-war camp for captured Officers), and later of Ilag VII (an internment camp for men from the Channel Islands).

History

Laufen Castle, which is assumed to be built on the ruins of an ancient Roman structure, was first mentioned in the reign of Bishop Vergilius of Salzburg, and once again in the 13th Century. On March 29, 1166, Emperor Barbarossa held court here.

During World War II the castle was used first as a prisoner-of-war camp for officers, Oflag VII-C. Then In May 1942 the officers were transferred to another camp, and the castle was used as an internment camp Ilag VII housing some hundreds of men deported from the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey and some American civilians that had been caught in Europe by the declaration of war by Germany on the United States on 11 December 1941.

Literature

See Also

Coordinates: 47°56′19″N 12°56′12.34″E / 47.93861°N 12.9367611°E / 47.93861; 12.9367611


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