Ruine Hohenjungingen

The ruins of Hohenjungingen stand on a 739-metre hill called the Bürgle, a kilometre south of Jungingen village in the Zollernalbkreis. The castle was built in the late 12th century by the Lords of Jungingen, who first appear in records in 1075. By 1278 the Johanniter Order took control, and by 1300 Count Eberhard I of Württemberg held it. In 1311 the castle was burned during the Reutlingen city war, and the village below was also destroyed. Excavations between 1952 and 1955 uncovered the foundations and artefacts. The castle was a summit stronghold with a keep measuring ten by eleven and a half metres and walls one and a half metres thick. Inside the keep the living quarters were arranged over several floors. A courtyard and a lower outer bailey lay below the main tower, giving space for stables and workshops. Pottery and metalwork found during digs show daily life on the site. Visitors today walk over grassy mounds that mark the keep’s footprint. The outer bailey offers wide views across the Alb plateau towards the Swabian Jura. Information boards explain how the Lords of Jungingen lived and how the castle changed hands. The quiet hilltop feels remote, yet it once controlled a busy route through the region.