Hornberg Castle was built in 1216 by the Nobles of Sulz as a satellite castle to their main castle, Sulz Castle. Hornberg Castle was constructed to additionally secure the connecting road through the Steinbachklinge between the imperial cities of Hall and Rothenburg. Shortly after, the Sulz family built Kirchberg Castle on the other side of the Jagst ford, which evolved into Kirchberg Castle and the town of Kirchberg. Together with Sulz Castle, it secured the ford crossing of the Jagst, an important long-distance route at the time. All three castles were Staufen imperial castles.

In the years following the construction of Hornberg Castle, the village of Hornberg developed, serving as a forecourt for the castle, which was solely built as a core castle.

Subsequently, the castle was owned by several proprietors, making it a joint-heritage castle. In 1339, Albrecht of Hohenlohe-Uffenheim acquired the castle and its lordship. In 1360, fortifications were constructed to secure the castle. From 1504, the Crailsheim family appeared as the sole owners and have remained so to this day. In 1525, the castle was partially destroyed in the Peasants' War. In the following decades, it was rebuilt and transformed into a Renaissance castle. In 1588, the zwinger was rebuilt and economic buildings were constructed. In 1599, the west wing was rebuilt. In 1647, the outer castle courtyard was transformed into an expansive castle garden.

In 1944/45, the castle suffered significant roof damage during World War II, which the owners were able to quickly repair after the war.

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 1216
Category: Castles and fortifications in Germany
Historical period: Hohenstaufen Dynasty (Germany)

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Rudi Schurer (15 months ago)
Very beautiful and interesting. Unfortunately privately owned. Can only be viewed from the outside.
Juergen Brueckner (4 years ago)
Beautiful old castle (P R I V A T B E S I T Z)
Sibylle Stahl (4 years ago)
Unfortunately closed
Jens Eifler (5 years ago)
Unfortunately not open to visitors. The climb and descent weren't worth it.
Joshua. O. Enaboakpe (6 years ago)
gut
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Rosenborg Castle

Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.

The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.

Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.