Burg Knollenburg

The Burg Knollenburg stands on the Michaelsberg near Dischingen in Baden-Württemberg. It was a hilltop castle at 490 metres above sea level. The site once belonged to the vanished village of Knollenburg. The only traces left are the remains of the mound and the surrounding ditch. In the 17th century the castle played a brief but dramatic part in the Thirty Years’ War.

The greatest disaster for the region came in September 1634 at the Battle of Nördlingen. That summer Swedish forces under Field Marshal Horn had made the Knollenburg their headquarters. Archaeologists have found bones and weapons near the village exit towards Ballmertshofen. The castle’s brief moment of military importance ended with the battle’s defeat.

Visitors today walk over the quiet hilltop where the castle once rose. The grassy mound and the old ring ditch are still visible. The view stretches across the Alb landscape. The site is quiet, with no modern buildings nearby. It is a place to stand and imagine the Swedish camp of 1634.