Plassenburg is first mentioned in 1135, and Count Berthold II of Andechs is presumed to be its founder. It served as a central stronghold for the Meranian rulers of the Upper Main and Franconian Forest, and then as a fortress and residence for the Hohenzollerns. They received it between 1338 and 1340.
The residence moved from Plassenburg to Bayreuth in 1542. The castle was destroyed in 1554 at the end of the second Margravian War. Caspar Vischer rebuilt it, as the article puts it, as an impressive stronghold and as a huge palace. The article gives no rebuild date.
Margrave Alexander sold the castle to the King of Prussia in 1792. In 1806 a combined Bavarian and French army besieged it. It is now a museum with a significant collection of Prussian military artifacts, and a venue for cultural events.
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