Wasserburg Ramsbach

The Wasserburg Ramsbach stands on the upper reaches of the Rotbach stream, beside the Ramsbach district of Schwäbisch Hall. It was a moated motte built in the 11th century by the local lords of Ramsbach, who served the noble family of Bielriet. By 1375 the village had passed to the Hörlebach family, who sold the ruined site to Berchtold Lamparter. The Lamparters traced their ancestry back to the same ministerial line, having once been called von Ramsbach before adopting the name Lamparter von Ramsbach. The castle’s decline began early: by 1375 it was already described as a Burgstall, meaning only earthworks remained. In 1450, during the Swabian War of Cities, a force from Ansbach burned the last standing structure, the so-called Wasserhaus. Later records still mention the site, but nothing of the original buildings survives above ground today. Visitors find a low, grassy mound surrounded by a shallow ditch where the moat once ran. A modern information board marks the spot, explaining how the motte would have looked in the 12th century. The setting is quiet farmland, with the stream still flowing past the southern edge of the site. From the mound there are wide views across the valley towards Schwäbisch Hall’s old town.