Schweinfurt Imperial Castle

The Hennebergische Reichsburg once stood in Schweinfurt’s old quarter, the Zürch, where Burggasse and Rittergasse still mark its place. Built at least by 1310 on a low plateau above the Main and the Marienbach valley, the castle was linked to the town wall and overlooked the river by about twelve metres. Its position resembled a spur castle though with gentler slopes, and the Salvatorkirche now stands on its northern edge. The site was chosen to replace an earlier castle on the Hainberg and to house imperial defenders of the free city. The castle’s importance lay in its role as a stronghold for the Henneberg counts, who acted as imperial governors and sometimes as outright lords of Schweinfurt. After financial troubles split their inheritance in the mid-14th century, the city bought back its freedom in 1361 and 1383. By 1427 the town had royal permission to dismantle the fortress and reuse its stones for the defences. Even so, fragments survived the destruction of 1553–54 and were only cleared when the city rebuilt after 1570. Today the only standing remnant is the former castle chapel, now the choir of the Salvatorkirche. Elsewhere a few stretches of wall remain, including a fifty-metre stretch pulled down for the town hall in 1570. The whole Zürch quarter still feels like a castle district, enclosed by stretches of the old town wall. Recent restorations in the 1980s have tidied the area without changing its medieval character.