Burg Lichtenberg

Burg Lichtenberg stands on a spur of the Löwenstein mountains above the village of Oberstenfeld in the Bottwartal valley. Built around 1200, it is one of the best-preserved castles from the Staufer period in Germany. The castle has belonged to the Weiler family since the late 15th century, whose descendants lived there until 2022. It remains inhabited today and houses a restaurant opened only on special occasions. The castle’s history is marked by notable figures such as Hermann II. Hummel von Lichtenberg, chancellor to Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian and later Bishop of Würzburg, and his brother Albrecht, an imperial marshal who fought in the last knightly battle on German soil at Mühldorf am Inn in 1322. In 1525, Dietrich von Weiler, the landhofmeister of Württemberg, led a defence against rebellious peasants and died in the failed attempt to save Weinsberg. His story later appeared in Goethe’s drama *Götz von Berlichingen*. During the Second World War, the castle was hit by 20 tank shells in April 1945, but its destruction was prevented when Baroness Marie Luise von Weiler raised a Swedish flag from the tower. Visitors enter through a stone bridge and gatehouse into a small inner courtyard. The late-Romanesque palace and the castle chapel, built between 1220 and 1230, contain wall paintings from the 13th and 14th centuries. The 30-metre-high bergfried offers a viewing gallery reached by 112 steps inside the tower. A wooden bridge leads across the narrow courtyard to the palace, while the ring wall and a small clock tower enclose the northern side. Two bells cast in 1704 and 1731 hang in the belfry. The castle is also surrounded by a vineyard and hosts public events such as winter markets and medieval festivals throughout the year.