Cultural heritage D-5-6729-0024 in Bechhofen (Mittelfranken)

The Schloss Thann stands on the southern edge of Thann village in Bechhofen, a quiet spot in Mittelfranken. Once a motte castle, it belonged to the local Thann family from 1087 until 1514. In 1514 the knights sold it to the Künsbergs, who passed it to the Crailsheims in 1565. By the 17th century the castle was empty and was repaired in 1747. The main buildings were pulled down in 1829 and the last standing arch removed in 1865. Today only a low rectangular mound, about thirty-eight metres long and thirty-three metres wide, remains. Part of the Crailsheim forecourt survives as a two-storey timber-framed house, one wing of what was once a four-sided complex. The site shows how the medieval stronghold shrank over centuries until nothing but traces were left. Visitors walk across the grassy mound and look at the small timber-framed building beside it. The surrounding village lanes are calm, with no modern intrusions on the old earthworks. A few information boards explain the site’s history. From the mound there are views over the fields and rooftops of Thann, linking the vanished castle to the present landscape.