Schloss Harthausen

Schloss Harthausen stands near Rettenbach in Schwaben, a four-storey double palace with sweeping curved gables and two side wings. The 15th- and 16th-century wings were joined in the 18th century by a tall central block in the Baroque style. The family of Freiherr von Riedheim has owned the estate since 1568, after Egolf von Riedheim bought it from Heinrich Truchsess von Höflingen.

The entrance arch carries a stucco cartouche with the Riedheim coat of arms flanked by those of the Stauffenberg, Hornstein, Giel and Freyberg families, showing the alliances that shaped the house. Between 1972 and 1977 the palace and its coach-house were restored to their 18th-century appearance, half the windows even painted in trompe-l’œil to match the original fenestration. To the west the arcaded coach-houses enclose a formal forecourt, beyond which lies the old tree and grass garden first recorded in 1560.

Schloss Harthausen and its grounds remain closed to visitors, so the building is seen only from the lane. The symmetrical façade and bold gables still proclaim the Baroque grandeur of the 1760 remodelling, while the stuccoed cartouche above the gate records the noble connections of the Riedheim family.