Landmark · Ilzstadt

Veste Niederhaus

The Veste Niederhaus stands impressively on the narrow rocky spit between the Danube and the Ilz, at the point where the small, dark Ilz flows into the broad Danube. Directly above it rises the mighty Veste Oberhaus, with which the Niederhaus is structurally merged via a fortified connecting passage running high along the slope — together the two once formed a single, almost impregnable defensive system of the Passau prince-bishops.

Built from the 13th century, the Veste Niederhaus secured access to the main fortress as an outer ward and controlled the lively shipping and rafting traffic on the rivers, which was crucial to the city's trade and prosperity. With its towers and walls that seem to grow straight out of the rock above the water, it still embodies the fortified medieval world of Passau today.

Unlike the Veste Oberhaus, the Niederhaus is privately owned and not open to the public. Even so, it is among the city's most photographed motifs: seen from the old town, from the Luitpold Bridge, from the Three Rivers Corner and especially from the water — on a river cruise or boat trip — the castle rising romantically above the rivers offers an unforgettable image of the City of Three Rivers.