Burg Buch

Burg Buch stands where the Hirtenbach stream meets the Bühler river, on a spur of land 345 metres above sea level. It was first recorded in 1380, though its builders, the lords of Buch, appear in a charter from 1253. The family later split, with one branch occupying nearby Waldau castle near Schwäbisch Gmünd. By the late fourteenth century the site belonged to the Tonzbach family, who sold it to Hans Hug of Vellberg. In 1595 the Vellbergers transferred the ruins and four farms to the free imperial city of Schwäbisch Hall. The only visible remains are the low mound that once supported the tower and the deep defensive ditch cut across the spur. Archaeologists have traced the outlines of walls beneath the grass, confirming the outline of a small medieval courtyard. After Schwäbisch Hall acquired the site it quickly sold off the land to citizens, leaving the hill to revert to meadow. Local historian Alois Schneider documented these traces in a 1995 survey of castles in the Schwäbisch Hall district. Visitors walk a quiet farm track that climbs gently from the hamlet of Buch. Wild roses and hawthorn grow along the old ditch, marking the line of the former palisade. From the mound the Bühler valley stretches away in gentle curves, its fields bordered by hedgerows. On clear days the silhouette of the Haller Stiftskirche can be seen ten kilometres to the south. The air carries the scent of hay and warm earth, broken only by the cry of buzzards circling above the river.