Burg Boxberg

Burg Boxberg stands in the town of Boxberg in the Main-Tauber district of Baden-Württemberg. It began as a 11th-century fortress and passed through several noble families before becoming a market town in the 13th century. The Johanniter Order acquired it in 1287, then sold it to the Rosenberg family in the 15th century. The site is remembered for the 1523 campaign of the Swabian League, which destroyed the castle after its owner supported the robber knight Hans Thomas von Absberg. A dramatic woodcut by Hans Wandereisen shows the siege, flames and the League’s troops. After rebuilding, the castle survived until the 19th century, when it was finally demolished. Today only sparse remains survive: three rebuilt towers, a dry ditch that served as a Zwinger, rock-cut casemates and a cleared well in the inner ward. A local preservation society has stabilised the ruins since 1893. Finds from the site are displayed in the Boxberg local museum.