Burg Schmeien

Burg Schmeien is a ruined cave castle set into a rock face 650 metres above sea level. It stands between the villages of Unterschmeien and Oberschmeien, both parts of Sigmaringen. The ruin overlooks the left bank of the Schmeie stream in a steep slope. A six-metre rock barrier must be crossed to reach the site. Among the 27 cave or cavity castles concentrated in the Danube valley and its side valleys, this is one of the most exposed. The castle was built around 1100 by the local noble Eberhardus de Smiehun. In 1137 he appears in a Gengenbach monastery record as the second of 38 free nobles. By 1334 the counts of Hohenberg had taken possession. In 1342 it passed to the lords of Jungingen, who sold it again in 1362. By 1461 it was already called a Burgstall, a vanished stronghold. The last owners, the lords of Hausen, handed it to the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen line in 1497. Traces remain of the wooden living quarters fitted into the cave. Mortar from a front wall, roof tiles and pottery fragments show the building once stood here. Farmers paid dues, a mill ground grain and the lords held sole fishing rights in the Schmeie. A larger farmyard on the plateau above supplied food. The natural cave offered shelter while the wooden structure gave a view over the valley.