Hohenfels Castle (german: Burg Hohenfels), also called Schloss Hohenfels or New Hohenfels (''Neu-Hohenfels'') is a

mediaeval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

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 ...

in which a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

was housed until July 2017. The castle stands within the parish of Kalkofen, over a kilometre north of the village itself, which is part of the municipality of Hohenfels in the county of

Konstanz Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...

in Germany. The castle gave its name to the municipality of Hohenfels which was created in 1973.

Location

The castle is located around eight kilometres east of

Stockach Stockach is a town in the district of Konstanz, in southern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Location It is situated in the Hegau region, about 5 km northwest of Lake Constance, 13 km north of Radolfzell and 25 km northwest of Konstan ...

and twelve kilometres north of

Lake Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...

, on the spur of a south-tilting ''

kuppe A ''Kuppe'' is the term used in German-speaking central Europe for a mountain or hill with a rounded summit that has no rock formation, such as a tor, on it. A range of such hills is called a ''Kuppengebirge''. In geology the term also refers to ...

'' of a forested hill ridge.

History

Hohenfels Castle has more than 700 years of history. It was founded by the lords of Hohenfels and was the family seat of the Neu-Hohenfels, a branch of Alt-Hohenfels with its family seat at Hohenfels in

Bonndorf Bonndorf is a town in the Waldshut (district), Waldshut district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the southern Black Forest, 14 km southeast of Titisee-Neustadt. It comprises the villages Boll, Brunnadern, Dillendorf, Ebne ...

in the county of

, who had settled here in the 12th century. Hohenfels Castle was first mentioned in 1292 as "Neuhohenfels". The Neuhohenfels line died out in 1352, and the Barony of Neuhohenfels, including its castle, passed by marriage to the lords of

Jungingen Jungingen is a municipality in the Zollernalbkreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located nearby the castle Burg Hohenzollern, about 5 km east of Hechingen. In former times, the city was located in ''Hohenzollern-Hechingen'', a principa ...

, who managed to largely reunite the two Hohenfels estates in the early 15th century through marriage. After flourishing for a short period, the family territory was divided again in 1441 into the Jungingen-Althohenfels and Jungingen-Neuhohenfels estates and fell into decay. After the death in 1501 of the last male member of the Jungingen family, Ulrich of Jungingen, in 1506 his sister Anna sold the Barony of Neuhohenfels to the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

. Since then the estate has been owned by the ''Landkomturei Altshausen'' of the Teutonic Order Bailiwick of Alsace and Burgundy. For exactly 300 years, from 1506 to 1806, the Teutonic Order dominated

Altshausen Altshausen is a small Swabian municipality with around 4,100 inhabitants, near the city of Ravensburg in Baden-Württemberg, in southern Germany. Geography Altshausen is situated in Upper Swabia, about 40 kilometers north of Lake Constance. No ...

influenced the Barony of Hohenfels. In 1553 and 1642 there were fires at the castle. In 1806, the Teutonic Order estate of Hohenfels, which was managed by an ''Obervogtei'' (senior advocate's office), and which included Hohenfels Castle as well as the villages of

Deutwang Hohenfels is a municipality in Konstanz district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Geography The municipal area is located north of Lake Constance on the eastern rim of the Hegau region, about east of Stockach. It includes the villages of Deut ...

, Kalkofen,

Liggersdorf Hohenfels is a municipality in Konstanz district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Geography The municipal area is located north of Lake Constance on the eastern rim of the Hegau region, about east of Stockach. It includes the villages of Deut ...

Mindersdorf Hohenfels is a municipality in Konstanz district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Geography The municipal area is located north of Lake Constance on the eastern rim of the Hegau region, about east of Stockach. It includes the villages of Deut ...

and

Selgetsweiler Hohenfels is a municipality in Konstanz district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Geography The municipal area is located north of Lake Constance on the eastern rim of the Hegau region, about east of Stockach. It includes the villages of Deut ...

, together with the Teutonic Order estate of

Achberg Achberg is a municipality in the district of Ravensburg in Baden-Württemberg in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after ...

came under the sovereignty of the Principality of

Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen ( en, Nothing without God) , national_anthem = , common_languages = German , religion = Roman Catholic , currency = , title_leader = Prince , leader1 ...

and was incorporated into the ''Obervogtei'' of Hohenfels. The castle passed through the hands of the princely House of Hohenzollern to the School of Schloss Salem. The school sold the castle in 2018. The new owner transformed the castle into a convention centre.

References

Literature

* Christian H. Freitag: ''Hohenfelser Geschichten - erzählt nach Dokumenten der Zeit''. In: Dr. Fredy Meyer (ed.): ''Römer Ritter Regenpfeifer. Streifzüge durch die Kulturlandschaft westlicher Bodensee'', Konstanz, 1995, pp. 83–97 * Christian H. Freitag: ''Von 'Hohenvels nova' zur Schule Burg Hohenfels''. In: ''Hohenzollerische Heimat'', 2/2000, pp. 17–20 and 3/2000, pp. 42–44 * Christian H. Freitag: ''Des einen Leid, des andern Freud! - Die Umwidmung des Hohenfelser Burggefängnisses zu einem Hohenfels-Museum''. In: ''Hegau Zeitschrift für Geschichte, Volkskunde und Naturgeschichte des Gebietes zwischen Rhein, Donau und Bodensee'', 61/ 2004, pp. 179–184 * Walther Genzmer (ed.): ''Die Kunstdenkmäler Hohenzollerns. Band 2. Kreis Sigmaringen''. W. Speemann, Stuttgart 1948. * Otto Glaeser: ''Brief Walther's von Hohenfels an Konrad von Jungingen 1397''. In: ''Hohenzollerische Jahreshefte. Band 5. 1938''. pp. 360–361 * Otto Glaeser: ''Die Herrschaften Alt- und Neu-Hohenfels und ihre Besitzer im Mittelalter''. In: ''Hohenzollerische Jahreshefte. Band 1. 1934''. pp. 65–112 * Otto Glaeser: ''Die Herrschaften Alt- und Neu-Hohenfels und ihre Besitzer im Mittelalter''. In: ''Hohenzollerische Jahreshefte. Band 2. 1935''. pp. 67–112 * Otto Glaeser: ''Die Herrschaften Alt- und Neu-Hohenfels und ihre Besitzer im Mittelalter''. In: ''Hohenzollerische Jahreshefte. Band 3. 1936''. pp. 65–119 * Otto Glaeser: ''Die Herrschaften Alt- und Neu-Hohenfels und ihre Besitzer im Mittelalter''. In: ''Hohenzollerische Jahreshefte. Band 4. 1937''. pp. 1–58 * Eugen Gradmann: ''Kunsthistorischer Wanderführer. Württemberg und Hohenzollern''. Chr. Belser AG. Stuttgart-Zürich, 1970. p. 489 * Max Miller (ed.): ''Handbuch der historischen Stätten Deutschlands - Bd. 6: Baden-Württemberg'', Stuttgart, 1965 * Otto Seydel:Otto Seydel, born 1945, is the former head of the lower stage of the school of Schloß Salem at Hohenfels Castle (Schule Burg Hohenfels, 78355 Überlingen) ''Rituale - Feier - Begehung. Das Beispiel der Schule Burg Hohenfels''. pp. 140–151. In: Michael Wermke (ed.): ''Rituale und Inszenierungen in Schule und Unterricht''. LIT Verlag Berlin-Hamburg-Münster, 1997.

External links

{{Authority control Schools in Baden-Württemberg Baroque architecture in Baden-Württemberg