Schloss Altshausen

Schloss Altshausen stands in the village of Altshausen in Oberschwaben, a plain landscape of southern Germany. It began as a medieval castle of the counts of Altshausen, first recorded in 1004. The scholar Hermann the Lame, born here in 1013, became one of the great minds of the 11th century. After the counts left in the 12th century the castle passed through several noble hands before the Teutonic Knights took possession in 1264. They made it the seat of their Swabian bailiwick and built a new residence in the 17th century. The Teutonic Order enlarged the complex under master builder Johann Caspar Bagnato from 1729 onwards. He laid out symmetrical avenues aligned towards Jerusalem, built the riding hall and stables, and connected the old and new wings with arcaded courtyards. The church of St Michael was given a rich baroque interior between 1748 and 1753. After the Order’s dissolution in 1809 the estate passed to Württemberg and became a royal residence in 1810. Visitors today see the two-storey Renaissance upper parts of the Old Castle above surviving ground-floor walls of the medieval stronghold. The New Castle presents a long main wing with hofseitige arcades and a gabled entrance bearing the coats of arms of successive land commanders. The church contains a large triple escutcheon of the Hochmeister Clemens August of Bavaria and the Teutonic cross. Beyond the buildings the Hartwald park offers tree-lined avenues and the Hartweiher lake with its canals, once used for boating. The castle itself and its giant lime tree remain private, but the park and church can be viewed from outside.