Mittleres Schloss Kleinbottwar

The Mittleres Schloss Kleinbottwar stands on a gentle rise above the Bottwar valley in the village of Kleinbottwar, now part of Steinheim an der Murr. Built between 1541 and 1543 by Hans Dietrich von Plieningen, it was called Neuenschaubeck and served as a modern residence for a Württemberg court official. The building was destroyed by fire in 1639 during the Thirty Years’ War and rebuilt after 1663 by Ursula Sibylla von Plieningen and her husband Wolfgang Friedrich von Eltershofen. By the late 18th century most of the original structure had been removed and replaced with new buildings.

The castle is worth visiting for its layered history tied to the Plieningen and Eltershofen families. Hans Dietrich studied under Philipp Melanchthon and introduced Lutheran reforms locally. After the fire, Ursula Sibylla and her husband created a new stately home on the old foundations. Later the Gaisberg family united all the scattered estates and made the site their seat for three generations.

Visitors find a modest but elegant manor house set among mature trees on the village edge. The surviving wing shows simple Renaissance detailing and overlooks the Bottwar valley. Nearby stand later farm buildings and the parish church, giving a sense of the estate’s former scale. The quiet lane and surrounding vineyards complete a peaceful picture of a once important noble residence.