Hertenstein Castle, part of the moat Hertenstein Castle, part of the moat Hertenstein Castle is a ruined

spur castle A spur castle is a type of medieval fortification that is sited on a 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 the spur joins the ...

approximately southwest of the village of Billingsbach, part of the municipality of Blaufelden, in the district of

Schwäbisch Hall Schwäbisch Hall (; "Swabian Hall"; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'' ) is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the ...

in the state of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a 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 inhabitants across a ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Description

The castle is located on a steep hill above the confluence of two streams (the ''Billingsbach'' and the ''Rötelbach'') at an elevation of . The main approach of the castle to the northeast was protected by an long artificial moat running from the steep slopes to the north towards the neighbouring hill in the south. The moat is between deep. Out of the moat a

mound A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically higher ...

rises which are the remains of the outer

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

, followed by a drop of towards the inner ward. Inside the inner ward is a flat triangular area about long and wide, in the middle of which the remains of the ''

bergfried ''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Spanish: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries and in countries under Germ ...

'' ( keep) are found. All that is left of the keep is a mound rising up to with a diameter of . The keep was built of rustication buckel stones (squared-off stones with a rounded outer surface). Only the moat is clearly visible today as none of the castle's structures above ground have survived. The whole area is covered by dense

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

History

The castle was built in the early 13th century. The original builders and owners of the castle are unknown. The existence of a castle is only documented as late as 1314 when a certain Eberhard von Hertenstein, lord of Billingsbach and

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

of the counts of

Hohenlohe The House of Hohenlohe () is a German princely dynasty. It ruled an immediate territory within the Holy Roman Empire which was divided between several branches. The Hohenlohes became imperial counts in 1450. The county was divided numerous tim ...

, appeared as a witness in a charter. The lords of Billingsbach seemed to have moved to the spur castle at the beginning of the 14th century. Yet, towards the end of the 14th century, after the extinction of the House of Billingsbach and the castle's return to the counts of Hohenlohe in 1370, the castle appeared to have lost its function as a dwelling place for the local nobility. On a map from 1578, the castle is indicated as being in a ruinous state.

Function

A trading route leading from

Künzelsau Künzelsau (; East Franconian: ''Kinzelse'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, in south central Germany. It is the capital of the Hohenlohe district. It is located on the river Kocher, 19 km (12 mi) north of Schwäbisch Hall, and 37& ...

through the valley of the

Jagst The Jagst () is a right tributary of the Neckar in northern Baden-Württemberg. It is 190 km long. Its source is in the hills east of Ellwangen, close to the Bavarian border. It winds through the towns Ellwangen, Crailsheim, Kirchberg an der ...

towards

Schrozberg Schrozberg is a town in the district of Schwäbisch Hall, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located west of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, and northeast of Schwäbisch Hall. Schrozburg Castle of the Lords of Schrozberg was built in the 12th c ...

and

Rothenburg ob der Tauber Rothenburg ob der Tauber () is a town in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. It is well known for its well-preserved medieval old town, a destination for tourists from around the ...

passed through Billingsbach, where it crossed two streams. One of the functions of Hertenstein Castle was to guard this crossing and to protect travellers.

Excavation

In 1948 and 1950, excavations on a small scale revealed shards of ceramics and other artefacts from the medieval period as well as the 16th century, indicating that the castle was inhabited at least until the early modern period.A. Schneider, ''Die Burgen im Kreis Schwäbisch Hall'', p. 28f.

References

External links

{{Castles in Schwäbisch Hall