Zwingenberg Castle (german: Burg Zwingenberg), also called Zwingenberg or Schloss Zwingenberg, stands on the right bank of the

River Neckar The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis near Schwenn ...

where it cuts through the Odenwald hills in central

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 ...

. The castle is located in the municipality of Zwingenberg 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 ...

Location

The

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 ...

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'', 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 knights, 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 sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It is ...

in the name of the emperor. In 1403, the Lord of Hirschhorn 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 (german: Kurfürstentum Mainz or ', la, Electoratus Moguntinus), 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 ...

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...

and the Grand Duchy of Baden. The lord of the castle today is Louis (''Ludwig''), Prince of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

(born 1937), a descendant of Grand Duke Charles Frederick of Baden. Above Zwingenberg Castle are the remains of Fürstenstein Castle. Zwingenberg 1850

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