Burg Asselfingen

The remains of Burg Asselfingen lie beside the Gasthof ‘Zum Hirsch’ in the village of Asselfingen, in the Alb-Donau district of Baden-Württemberg. Built in the 13th century by the local lords, the castle is first recorded in 1282. Today only fragments of its walls survive, built into the fabric of house number 14, and a shallow ditch marks the line of its defences. The site offers a quiet glimpse of medieval fortification without the crowds of larger ruins. The surviving masonry shows how the castle once guarded the surrounding valley. Günter Schmitt’s Burgenführer Schwäbische Alb describes the remains in detail, placing Asselfingen among the lesser-known but still recognisable castles of the region. A visitor walks past the Gasthof and then spots the old stones set into the neighbouring house. A short stretch of the old ditch runs beside the road, its shallow profile the only surface trace of the fortress. The scene is calm and domestic, yet the medieval fabric quietly asserts itself in the walls and earthwork.