Ruine Heimenstein

The Heimenstein ruin stands on a steep 764-metre rock above Neidlingen in the Swabian Alb. It was once a small cliff castle built by the lords of Heimenstein, first recorded around 1240. The rock also holds the Heimenstein cave, a passage hollowed into the south face of the crag. The castle’s builders appear in charters of 1251 and 1296 as followers of the dukes of Teck. By 1477 a woman named Margarete vom Stain is named as heir of Heimenstein. A 1596 map shows the site still intact before it fell to ruin. Traces remain of the neck ditch that once defended the core. Visitors climb to the rock and find remnants of the 8-by-6-metre hall inside the old curtain wall. The cave entrance is visible on the southern side, offering a short walk through the rock. From the summit there are wide views over the Alb plateau and down to the valley below. The ruins are quiet, reached only by a short path from the village.