Burg Fürstenstein

The ruined medieval hilltop stronghold of Burg Fürstenstein stands above the village of Rietheim-Weilheim in the Tuttlingen district. It occupies a narrow rock shelf 877 metres above sea level, dropping steeply to the Faulebach stream 200 metres below. A single Sohlgraben carved from the slope once cut the rock platform off from the plateau. Traces of a small tower and a rock-cut cellar remain on the terrace. Little is known about the builders or date, but the name Fürstenstein probably refers to Bertholdus de Vuristinstein, a brother of the Abbot of Reichenau, mentioned in 1211. The site may have belonged to a branch of the Hirschberg-Konzenberg family who also held nearby Konzenberg castle. A 14th-century Urbar records a Freiherr family living here. Visitors reach the plateau by a short path from the village. The highest point shows low core masonry of what was likely a small tower. A rock-hewn hollow marks the former cellar. Nearby, a 2017 illuminated cross overlooks the same steep valley. The exposed rock and the deep trench give a clear sense of how the stronghold once commanded the landscape.