Jörgenberg Castle

Burg Jörgenberg stands on a steep rock 560 metres above sea level near the hamlet of Mittenweiler, part of the village of Mittenhausen in the Alb-Donau district of Baden-Württemberg. The site overlooks the valley from a height that once made it a strong defensive position. The castle was built for or by Dietrich von Jörgenberg, a ministerial of the Counts of Berg. It first appears in a document from 1243 and was abandoned or destroyed before 1370. Today only earthworks and ditches remain, yet they reveal an unusually large and carefully planned layout. The remains show a rectangular inner ward roughly eighteen by thirteen metres, with a cross-wall dividing it. On the north side a low rubble ridge suggests a ramp once led inside, possibly the main entrance. The other three outer ridges rise about two metres and seem to mark the footings of a strong palas wall. The entire enclosure forms an almost triangular shape about fifty-three by forty-six metres. A broad approach from the south leads up to the western tip of the triangle, becoming steeper only at the last stretch. Two old tracks run north and south of the site, perhaps former short cuts to the valley floor. Visitors walk through dense woodland to reach the quiet ruins. The outer bailey shows no regular ground plan, so timber-framed buildings are assumed to have stood there. Steep slopes and rock faces protect the approach from the valley, making the site easy to defend despite its ruined state. Dense forest now covers every trace of the former buildings, and even aerial photographs reveal nothing more. The place offers a clear sense of medieval planning without the distraction of modern intrusions.