Trausnitz Fortress in Germany, Bavaria resort
Rating: 7,7/10 (300 votes)  Trausnitz Fortress – one of the oldest castles belonging to the old feudal family of the Wittelsbachs. Formerly performing a defensive function, now the castle is an adornment of the town of Landshut. The fortress rises on a picturesque green hill. Otto I, the first duke of the Wittelsbach family, and Ludwig I, his son, significantly expanded their possessions and, in order to defend new territories, was built in 1204 Landshut castle. At the foot of the hill, the city quickly grew, the inhabitants were drawn to the protection of the fortress. At that time, the fortress was renamed, and the city was named exactly the same: Burg Trausnitz. Landshut was the seat of one of the courtyards of the Wittelsbach family. at the beginning of the XIV century, Frederick the Handsome was held captive in the fortress by Ludwig IV of Bavaria, Duke of Austria. In 1475, the wedding of George the Rich with the Polish princess Jadwiga was held here. Wilhelm V the Pious left a noticeable mark in Trausnitz, who ruled in these places from 1545 to 1579. Traveling a lot in Italy and inspired by the landscape parks there, he laid out a beautiful garden that stretches on the hillside from the castle itself to the Isar River. In the garden, he planted exotic plants and brought various animals, in particular lions. William V was an avid collector and possessed a significant collection of paintings by various artists. The walls of the castle were decorated with these canvases. In addition, court life here was very stormy: very often there were celebrations, knightly tournaments, and mass hunts. The best Bavarian musicians and artists have performed here. A loggia was built on the northern side of the walls of the fortress especially in order to listen to music and at the same time examine the landscape. The most interesting and remarkable building of the fortress is rightfully considered the spiral staircase of the Fools. It is located in the western wing of the fortress. The steps of the staircase are surrounded by a wall, which is decorated with images of masks of the characters of the commedia dell'arte: Harlequin, Brighella, Pantalone, Pulcinella and others. Initially, these masks made the duke's courtiers laugh. Today, not all of the frescoes have survived, but nevertheless, this is the largest painting in this genre in the world.  
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