Burg Häringstein

Burg Häringstein stands on Schlossfelsen above the Schmiecha valley, a mile north-east of Ebingen in Albstadt. The rock rises to 953 metres and overlooks the Ochsenberg and Malesfelsen. The site was once a spur castle built around 1100 by the Lords of Ebingen or the Lords of Häringstein. By the mid-13th century the castle was abandoned and only traces remain. A 24-metre tower now crowns the rock, giving the place its modern name Schlossfelsenturm. The tower was erected in 1899 after an 1881 dig confirmed the castle’s foundations. The city of Albstadt owns the land and the tower serves as Ebingen’s landmark. A footpath from the Waldheim leisure grounds leads up to the base of the rock. Below the tower lies the Hexenküche, a small cave hollowed into the cliff. The tower’s upper platform sits at 972 metres, twenty metres above the valley floor. Visitors climb the tower’s spiral stairs to a ring of windows that frame views of the Schmiecha valley and, on clear days, the Swiss Alps. The surrounding forest and the rock’s steep sides give the place a quiet, sheltered feel. The double ramparts and kidney-shaped core that once defended the castle are still visible on the eastern slope. The name Häringstein recalls the noble Haeringstein family whose lands once lay at the foot of the rock.