Burg Zwiefaltendorf

Burg Zwiefaltendorf stands in Zwiefaltendorf, a village now part of Riedlingen in the Biberach district of Baden-Württemberg. It was a medieval moated castle built by the Lords of Zwiefaltendorf in the 11th century. The first written mention of the family dates to 1091, when Dietrich of Zwiefaltendorf appears in records. In 1517 Duke Ulrich of Württemberg burned the castle down. After Swedish troops looted it in 1660, the ruins were cleared away. The Lords of Speth later became owners of the site. Today only scattered masonry remains mark where the water-filled ditch once defended the stronghold. A few metres north, the later Schloss Zwiefaltendorf was built on the same estate. The old castle’s walls have largely vanished beneath grass and earth. Visitors walk along quiet village lanes to find the faint traces of the former fortress. A low grassy mound and scattered stones show where the keep once rose above the moat. Nearby, the newer palace stands behind a hedge, its facades turning away from the old site. The scene is peaceful, with no crowds or signs, just the memory of a castle that shaped the village’s past.