Burg Wertheim

Burg Wertheim stands on a narrow ridge between the Main and Tauber valleys above the town of Wertheim. The ruin is one of the oldest in Baden-Württemberg and was first mentioned in 1183. The counts of Wertheim began building the castle in the 12th century, and it grew into a large complex over several periods. The upper castle still has a keep from around 1200 and a great hall from the mid-13th century. The town below was planned at the same time and enclosed by a ring wall that joined the castle defences. The castle became a cultural centre where the poet Wolfram von Eschenbach worked. He refers to ‘my lord the count of Wertheim’ in his Parzival, suggesting he wrote parts of the poem here between 1200 and 1210. The counts supported courtly literature, and Wolfram may have met Emperor Henry VI there. After the Wertheim line died out in 1556, other noble families took over until the Thirty Years War destroyed much of the castle. A powder explosion in 1619 and Swedish occupation in 1634 left it in ruins. Today the ruins show a keep, great hall, chapel and later buildings arranged on stepped rock terraces. A deep neck ditch separates the upper castle from the lower ward, which was later built up. The keep, about 25 m high, can be climbed for wide views over Wertheim and the two rivers. A late-Gothic balcony and a Baroque archive building add to the remains. The town still shelters beneath the old walls, and the castle’s lights were renewed in 2023 to modern standards.