Burg Stubenberg

The Burg Stubenberg, also called Giengerhof, once stood on a narrow western ridge of the Hochsträß at 530.5 metres above sea level. The spur castle overlooked the village of Weiler in the mountains, now part of Schwäbisch Gmünd in the Ostalbkreis. It was built by a family serving the Staufer emperors, probably in the 12th or 13th century. The same family appears in records from 1319 until the late 14th century. One of its members, Ludwig von Stubenberg, even became abbot of Lorch Abbey between 1333 and 1371. The site passed to the lords of Rechberg in 1365 and was granted as a hereditary fief in 1461. By the mid-15th century the Rechbergs sold the Stubenberg estate, the nearby village of Bargau and Burg Bargau to the free imperial city of Schwäbisch Gmünd. Two deep neck ditches cut across the long, narrow bailey, dividing it into three small mounds. These earthworks are still visible today. Visitors walk along the ridge where the castle once rose. The two deep ditches frame the central mound, giving a clear sense of how the fortress was arranged. From the site there are wide views over the Gmünder bergland and the gentle slopes of the Hochsträß. The surrounding beech woods and meadows add to the quiet atmosphere of the hilltop.