Langenburg () is a town in the district of Schwäbisch Hall, in

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 ...

. It is located on a hill above the river

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 ...

, 18 km northeast 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 ...

. It is also the place where

Wibele Wibele are very small, sweet biscuits originating from the Franconian city of Langenburg in Germany, though nowadays they are considered a Swabian speciality. The dough is made from egg white, icing sugar, flour and vanilla sugar. They are simil ...

- small, sweet, biscuit-like pastries - were invented and are still baked today.

History

The history of Langenburg begins with the building of a castle on the western hill crag. Prehistoric settling is likely, but not proven. Langenburg is first documented in 1226. The free Lords of Langenburg, which stepped into history in 1201, were closely related to the Lords of Hohenlohe. Maybe they even held family bonds. After the Langenburgs had died out, the Hohenlohe family inherited the possessions. Langenburg thus came under the rule 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 ...

and remained part of the Principality for the next centuries. Since 1568 Langenburg was the residency of the county and latter principality

Hohenlohe-Langenburg Hohenlohe-Langenburg () was a German county and later principality in the Holy Roman Empire. It was located in the current northeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, around Langenburg. Since the medieval times this small state was ruled by the Hous ...

. In the 17th Century, Langenburg was the site of

witch trials A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The Witch trials in the early modern period, classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and European Colon ...

. The last victims, Anna Schmieg and Barbara Schleicher, were executed in 1672.

Sights

Langenburg has a vintage car museum and the large

Langenburg Castle Langenburg () is a town in the district of Schwäbisch Hall, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on a hill above the river Jagst, 18 km northeast of Schwäbisch Hall. It is also the place where Wibele - small, sweet, biscuit-li ...

, the seat of the family of

. The current owner of the castle and estate is

Philipp, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg Philipp, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (Philipp Gottfried Alexander; born 20 January 1970), is the head of the House of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, since the death of his father in 2004. Early life and ancestry He was born in Crailsheim, West Germ ...

Gallery

De Merian Frankoniae 071.jpg, Langenburg in 1656 Schloss Langenburg-msu-2021-0306-.jpg, Langenburg Castle SchlossLangenburgSaal-92.jpg, Castle museum

Bibliography

References

Schwäbisch Hall (district) Württemberg {{SchwäbischHall-geo-stub