Burg Möckmühl

Burg Möckmühl, also called Götzenburg, stands on a narrow rocky ridge above the town of Möckmühl in the Jagst valley. Built in the high Middle Ages as a hilltop fortress, it once guarded the junction where the Seckach flows into the Jagst. Several toll roads and escort routes crossed here, including one from Würzburg to Wimpfen that the Romans had used to defend the Limes. The castle’s origins remain unknown, though the lords of Dürn probably built it before 1251. After the death of Konrad of Dürn, his widow Mechtild, last countess of Lauffen, lived here for eighteen years as her widow’s seat. In 1287 the Hohenlohe family gained control through marriage and founded a canonry before the gate in 1379. Later it passed to the counts palatine, then to Württemberg, and in 1519 Götz von Berlichingen defended it for Duke Ulrich until he was captured. The oldest part is the round bergfried, now called the Götzenturm, whose romanesque entrance lies thirteen metres above ground. A surviving ring wall encloses the courtyard and both towers, and a stone bridge leads across the ditch. The castle’s five-sided layout and the remains of the eastern shield wall are still visible on the ridge. Above the town, the high gable and tall tower make the rebuilt castle a landmark.