Schloss Scheer

Schloss Scheer stands on a narrow limestone spur above the Danube in southern Baden-Württemberg. The river curves around the spur in a wide loop, making the castle’s position dominant over the town below. Three main buildings with stepped gables form a picturesque cluster, linked by a lower connecting wing that houses the chapel. The largest block, the north building, contains the knights’ hall, while the middle section holds the chapel on its third floor. A single round tower with a tented roof protects the southern defences, where a bridge now crosses the former moat to the landscaped park. The castle began in the late 15th century for Count Andreas of Sonnenberg, who brought the master builder Lienhart from Mengen. In 1505 the bishop of Constance consecrated the chapel in the middle building. Later, in the 1560s, Reichserbtruchsess Wilhelm the Younger added a chancery wing and inserted his marriage escutcheon above a doorway. By the 18th century a gatehouse and stables had been added, and the moat was transformed into an English landscape garden. In 1785 the Waldburg counts sold the lordship to the Thurn und Taxis family, who held it until 1967. Visitors enter through the northern gatehouse and pass into a courtyard once used as a bleaching ground. The chapel’s vaulted chamber still shows its late-Gothic ribbing, while the knights’ hall retains its grand proportions. Outside, the park follows the Danube’s curve, with lawns, mature trees and the old bridge leading to the southern tower. The stepped gables and varied roof lines give the ensemble a lively silhouette against the river and the wooded hills beyond.