Domeneck

Schloss Domeneck stands near Züttlingen, a village in Möckmühl, on a gentle spur between two small streams that join below the hill. The present building replaced an earlier medieval castle first recorded in 1270. The site commands views over the Jagst valley from its western approach. The castle’s long history includes owners such as the Berlichingen family and the Stumpff von Schweinbergs, whose coats of arms can still be seen. It was rebuilt after being burnt in the 1525 Peasants’ War by Bernhard von Hartheim. Later it passed through many hands, including the Ellrichshausens and the Leutrum von Ertingens, before becoming a Württemberg knight’s estate in 1831. Visitors enter a rectangular courtyard surrounded by several wings. The south side is the main house, the east wing has a round tower with a pointed roof, and the north and west sides hold farm buildings. A short walk north-west leads to the ruins of the old castle, where an eight-metre-high keep base and the remains of another round tower stand among grass and trees.