Burg Bietigheim

Burg Bietigheim once stood in the Bietigheim district of Bietigheim-Bissingen, a town in the Ludwigsburg district of Baden-Württemberg. Built in the 12th century, it was likely constructed by the Lords of Bietigheim with the approval of the Counts of Vaihingen. The first written record of the castle appears in 1279, when Konrad Körnlin bequeathed most of his possessions to Lorch Abbey, excluding the castle, its tenants and fishing rights. In 1291, the castle was partly destroyed in a feud with Count Eberhard the Illustrious, leaving only half the keep and the chapel standing. The remaining tower collapsed in 1542, killing nine people and damaging nearby buildings. Archaeological work in the 1980s uncovered traces of the castle’s layout along Pfarrstraße and Turmstraße. Excavations revealed a square tower with walls 3.5 metres thick and a side length of 11.5 metres, built partly with bossed ashlar stones. The city church now stands where the castle chapel once was. Beneath the southwest corner of the wine press, archaeologists found the foundations of another defensive tower. A double curtain wall ran east of the tower, and the northern and southern moats were located near Turmstraße and the city church. Today, visitors can trace the castle’s outline by walking these streets. The wine press and city church mark key points of the former stronghold. The southern moat lies beside the church, while the northern one runs along Turmstraße. Though no visible ruins remain, the excavated foundations and moats give a sense of the site’s former scale. The area remains quiet, with no modern intrusions, allowing the medieval layout to be imagined.