Zwingenberg Castle (), also called Zwingenberg or Schloss Zwingenberg, stands on the right bank of the River Neckar where it cuts through the

Odenwald The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the Germany, German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Location The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße Route, Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried' ...

hills in central

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

is located in the municipality of Zwingenberg in the state of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

Location

The

spur castle A spur castle is a type of medieval fortification that is sited on a spur (mountain), spur of a hill or mountain for defensive purposes. Ideally, it would be protected on three sides by steep hillsides; the only vulnerable side being that where t ...

was built on a

hill spur A spur is a lateral ridge or tongue of land descending from a hill, mountain or main crest of a ridge. It can also be defined as another hill or mountain range which projects in a lateral direction from a main hill or mountain range. Examples of ...

in the triangle formed by the confluence of the steep Wolfschlucht gorge with the Neckar valley and lies about 50 metres above the river.

History

The castle was probably built in the 13th century by the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

ministerialis The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a legally unfree but socially elite class of knights, administrators, and officials in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire, drawn from a mix of servile origins, free commoners, and ...

'', William of Wimpfen. The first record of it dates to the year 1326. A nephew of William of Wimpfen called himself ''von Zwingenberg''. Because the Zwingenbergs were

robber knight A robber baron or robber knight () was an unscrupulous feudal landowner who, protected by his fief's legal status, imposed high taxes and tolls out of keeping with the norm without authorization by some higher authority. Some resorted to actual ...

s, in 1363 they were driven from the castle and it was

slighted Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative, or social structures. This destruction of property is sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It ...

in the name of the emperor. In 1403, the

Lord of Hirschhorn Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are e ...

was enfeoffed with the Zwingenberg and had it rebuilt. After his line had died out, ownership switched between the

Electorate of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz ( or '; ), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop-Elec ...

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a Imperial State, constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy ...

and the

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...

. The lord of the castle today is Louis (''Ludwig''), Prince of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

(born 1937), a descendant of

Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. The title is used in some current and former independent monarchies in Europe, particularly: * in ...

Charles Frederick of Baden Charles Frederick (22 November 1728 – 10 June 1811) was Margrave, Elector and later Grand Duke of Baden (initially only Margrave of Baden-Durlach) from 1738 until his death. Biography Born at Karlsruhe, he was the son of Hereditary Prince Fred ...

. Above Zwingenberg Castle are the remains of

Fürstenstein Castle Fürstenstein is a municipality in the district of Passau in Bavaria in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the A ...

Literature

* Jochen Pressler: ''Burgen und Schlösser im Rhein-Neckar-Dreieck. Alles Wissenswerte über 126 Burg- und Schloßanlagen in Nordbaden, Südhessen und der Vorderen Pfalz''. 3rd expanded and revised edition. Schimper, Schwetzingen, 1996, . pp. 98f * Jochen Goetze (text) and Werner Richner (photography): ''Burgen im Neckartal''. Braus, Heidelberg, 1989, . pp. 44ff * Heinrich Niester: ''Die Instandsetzungsarbeiten auf der Burg Zwingenberg am Neckar, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis.'' In: ''Denkmalpflege in Baden-Württemberg'', 2nd annual, 1973, Issue 2, p. 18–27.
pdf; 9.2 MB

External links

Official website of the Zwingenberg SchlossOfficial website of the Schloss Festival, Zwingenberg
at burgenwelt.de

on a private website
Entry at Krieger
{{Authority control Odenwald