Burg Schenkenberg

Burg Schenkenberg stands on a 588-metre hilltop above the Neckar valley near Epfendorf in south-west Germany. The small ruined castle once belonged to a Swiss noble family who took their name from the site. Records first mention the Schenken von Schenkenberg in 1169 when a Dietho signed a charter for the Bishop of Constance. The castle was built in the 13th or 14th century and passed through several generations of the Schenken family. In 1414 they pledged the fortress and in 1421 it was sold to Konrad von Stein. By 1564 the Rottweil survey map already showed it as a ruin. Local legend even claims that the 10th-century Duchess Hadwig of Swabia once held court here. Today only fragments remain of the stone ring wall and the 12-metre square keep. The steep slopes protect three sides of the site naturally, while a dry ditch guards the remaining approaches. Visitors reach the summit along quiet woodland paths and find wide views across the Neckar and its tributaries.