Burg Scharfenberg

Burg Scharfenberg stands as a ruined hilltop fortress on a 617-metre summit above Donzdorf in the Swabian hills. The site commands views across the Fils valley and the surrounding wooded countryside. A steep-sided spur of the Alb plateau, the hill is known locally as a Zeugenberg because its harder rock has resisted erosion. The ruins sit on the very crest, making the approach a short but noticeable climb. The fortress began in the 12th century as a stronghold of the Staufer emperors’ ministeriales, the lords Otto and Friedrich von Scharphinberch. Their stonemasons left the distinctive stauferzeit Buckelquader on the eastern wall. After the Staufer line ended the Rechberg family took possession, only to lose the castle in 1310 to a raid by Ulrich von Helfenstein and Eberhard von Staufeneck. By the 15th century the medieval defences had been replaced by a Renaissance palace that served as the main residence of the Rechbergs until 1568. During the Thirty Years War the castle was sacked in 1643 and finally abandoned in 1826. Visitors follow a private gravel track past the Scharfenhof farm and through an iron gate into the walled courtyard. The rectangular ruin measures 68 by 27 metres and is protected on three sides by sheer drops and on the south by a deep ditch. In the north the shell of the lord’s house still shows Renaissance windows, two oriel projections and a portal. Buckelquader from the 12th century remain on its eastern wall. To the south a late-Gothic three-storey building survives, while to the west a restored keep has been converted into a holiday flat. The courtyard and the remains of the two main buildings are open to walk round; the inhabited tower is private. From the crest the eye travels over the wooded Alb plateau and down to Donzdorf below.