Burg Weiler (Bechingen)

The Burg Weiler stands on the Weilerstock ridge west of Bechingen, a village that belongs to Riedlingen in the Biberach district of Baden-Württemberg. It was a medieval stronghold built in the 13th century by the Lords of Weiler, who appear in records from 1251 until the early 14th century. After their line died out the property passed to Zwiefalten Abbey, which held the nearby village. By 1690 substantial stretches of wall still rose above the ground, but today nothing remains above soil level. The site is marked only by a gentle rise and occasional stone fragments half-buried in grass. Archaeologists have found traces of the outer bailey and a deep ditch that once defended the approach from the east. Visitors walk a quiet farm track that crosses the former courtyard, where low earthworks outline the keep’s foundations. Wild thyme and juniper grow among the stones, and the view stretches across the Danube valley to the wooded Swabian Alb. On clear days the spire of Zwiefalten’s abbey church can be seen twelve kilometres away.