Stöckenburg

The Stöckenburg stands on a 385-metre-high spur above the town of Vellberg in the Schwäbisch Hall district. A church dedicated to St Martin has occupied the site since early medieval times. The small settlement beside the church still bears the name Stöckenburg.

The spur was first fortified by Celts before the birth of Christ. In 822 Emperor Louis the Pious recorded that the church belonged to Würzburg diocese. The Streckfuss family held the castle until 1408, when their rights passed to the lords of Hohenlohe. By the late 11th century the bishops of Würzburg preferred the new Vellberg castle across the valley.

Visitors find the solid tower of the Evangelical parish church of St Martin. This tower probably began as the bergfried of the old Stöckenburg. The church itself was rebuilt in the 15th century after the medieval fortress fell into disuse.