Burg Hundheim

Burg Hundheim stands on the Schlossbuckel, a wooded hill spur 289 metres above the Neckar near Neckarhausen. The site is reached only on foot, either from Neckarhausen or Lanzenbach through a thinly settled, heavily forested landscape. Archaeologists in 2004 confirmed it as the oldest known castle in the lower Neckar valley. Its builders chose a compact plan: an octagonal stone tower with walls 1.4 metres thick and a polygonal ring wall 1.7 metres wide. A later palas on the southern side, facing the river, added living space and was divided inside by a partition wall. The masonry uses carefully cut small blocks, a finish usually reserved for churches of the period. A surrounding ditch and an extra trench on the north-east once defended the approach. Today the earthworks are slight, but the stone core remains on the highest point. Nearby medieval villages once supplied food and served as outer wards. The whole area passed to Schönau Abbey after the castle’s destruction about 1130, and is now private woodland under conservation protection.