Burg Hohenwittlingen

Burg Hohenwittlingen stands on a rocky spur 667 metres above sea level above the Erms valley near Bad Urach. The ruined spur castle was built in the early 11th century by Burkhard von Wittlingen. It later passed to the counts of Achalm-Urach, the monastery at Zwiefalten and the counts of Württemberg. In the 16th century a single man served as both burgrave and forester on the site. The reformer Johannes Brenz took refuge here in 1548 while fleeing imperial troops. The castle was used to imprison Anabaptists between 1560 and 1617. A fire in 1576 caused serious damage that was never fully repaired. During the Thirty Years War a small Württemberg garrison guarded the pass from the Alb plateau into the Ermstal valley. After the war the ruins served local farmers as a refuge until the 18th century. Today the remains include a 100-metre-long enceinte, a 9-metre-wide neck ditch and a 180-centimetre-thick curtain wall. The upper ward is reached by rock-cut steps and contains the lower parts of the great hall’s portal. A massive 5.3-metre-thick shield wall with a projecting spur to the west still dominates the southern approach. The path climbs the eastern slope, passes between the main and outer baileys, and reaches the round tower stub beside the gate.