Burg Wartenberg (Geisingen)

The Burg Wartenberg stands as the ruin of a hilltop fortress on a wooded summit 810 metres above sea level. It overlooks the northernmost Hegau volcano two kilometres west of Geisingen in Baden-Württemberg. The site commands wide views across the surrounding countryside. The original stone tower was built in 1140 from basalt blocks measuring thirteen by twenty-two metres. Its walls were more than three metres thick and enclosed by a five-metre-high curtain wall that still stands today. The lords of Geisingen made Wartenberg their family seat before taking the name von Wartenberg. Cono miles de Gisingen appears in a charter dated 2 February 1095 as the first recorded member of this noble house. The family’s heraldic lion survives in several local coats of arms, including those of Geisingen and Öfingen. By the 13th century a new castle had been built a hundred metres east of the old site. The old fortress fell into ruin by the 15th century and was later cleared away. In 1780 the Fürstenberg official Freiherr von Lassolaye demolished the later castle to build a pleasure palace. Visitors reach the hilltop through a quiet forest path that leads to the remains of the medieval tower and curtain wall. The sturdy basalt masonry shows the scale of the original stronghold. From the summit there are sweeping views over the Hegau landscape. Remnants of the 18th-century English-style landscape park recall the later transformation of the site. The contrast between the ruined fortress and the refined pleasure grounds offers a glimpse of the hill’s layered history.