Castle Hofen

Burg Hofen stands above the Neckar on a hill in Stuttgart’s Mühlhausen district. Built around 1250 by the Counts of Württemberg, it once guarded a river crossing and trade route. The village of Hofen, first mentioned in 1120, grew nearby under the castle’s protection. After the last local lord died in 1369, the Württemberg counts took over and later granted the castle to the Neuhausen family. Swedish troops burned it in the Thirty Years’ War, leaving only ruins that still rise over the river valley. The remains include an eight-metre-high shield wall, a 13-metre-tall bergfried, and sections of the two-metre-thick ring wall. Archaeologists believe the great hall once stood in the south-east corner, with a wooden building to the south-west. The inner ward was surrounded by a defensive wall and ditches, giving the small castle a strong position. In the 19th century parts were demolished, but the city restored the ruins in 1999. Today it is Stuttgart’s only castle ruin with standing masonry. Visitors walk among the weathered stone walls and climb the bergfried for wide views over the Neckar and surrounding vineyards. The tower’s base remains intact, showing how the fortress once dominated the landscape. A short path leads from the Wolfgangstraße behind St Barbara’s church up to the ruins. The site is quiet, with only the wind and birds breaking the silence. The restored walls stand as silent witnesses to seven centuries of history.