Burg Neu-Windeck

The ruins of Neu-Windeck Castle stand on a hilltop at 310 metres above sea level, south-east of Lauf in the Ortenau district. Built around 1300 by the lords of Windeck, it was first mentioned in writing in 1371. The castle chapel, dedicated to the Three Kings, appears in records from 1377. The family split into two branches, Alt-Windeck and Neu-Windeck, who often quarrelled and even used the castle against each other in the Schlegler War of 1394–1396. The feud ended in 1466 when Berthold of Neu-Windeck married Anna of Alt-Windeck. The last male heir died in Venice in 1592 while returning from a journey through France, Spain and Italy. The castle was a small trapezoidal complex in the Gothic style. Its three-storey great hall, living quarters, 20-metre-high keep with three dungeons, stables and a shield-wall with outer bailey have long since crumbled. By 1580 it was already described as a ruin. Part of the castle was mortgaged to Margrave Christoph I of Baden in 1500, and from 1520 to 1570 the lords of Dürrmenz held another section. The keep still stands and can be climbed for wide views across the surrounding countryside. Visitors walk among the remaining walls and foundations on the Schlossberg. The keep offers a clear vantage point over the Ortenau region. The site is quiet, with only fragments of the once busy fortress still visible. The ruins recall the rivalry of the Windeck family and the castle’s shifting fortunes. A short climb brings the tower into reach, rewarding the visitor with a broad panorama of the valley below.