Burg Hohenlupfen

The Burg Hohenlupfen stands on the Lupfen, a 975-metre mountain in the Baar region. The peak rises above the village of Talheim in Baden-Württemberg. The Lupfen is known locally as the ‘King of the Baar’ for its height. The hill is a witness mountain, its flat top separated from the surrounding high ground. From the summit visitors look across the Baar plain to the Black Forest and the Swabian Alb. The castle was first mentioned in 1065 as the seat of the counts of Lupfen. These counts gained the lordship of Stühlingen and other lands in the 13th century. After years of feuds with the Fürstenbergs they sided with Württemberg in the Swabian War of Cities. In 1377 Rottweil troops captured Count Eberhard and destroyed the castle. Rebuilt, it was levelled again in 1416 by Rottweilers acting for King Sigismund. The site passed to the lords of Friedingen, then to Württemberg. Today only earthworks and a modern lookout tower remain. The tower stands where the square keep once rose. The keep measured seven metres by seven metres. Fragments of the surrounding wall, one metre thick, were recorded in 1791. Their traces now appear as patterns in the grass. The view from the tower takes in the Baar plain and the distant ranges.