Ravensburg

The Ravensburg stands on a narrow ridge above Sulzfeld, a village in the far north-east of Karlsruhe district. Built as the Göler family’s ancestral seat, it is one of the few medieval castles still standing in the Kraichgau hills. The spur rises 80 metres above the Kohlbach valley, and vineyards now surround the ruins on every side except the north-east. The castle’s history is written in stone. Ravan of Wimpfen began the Bergfried and curtain wall between 1220 and 1222 for his sons. In 1546 imperial troops burned the fortress during the Schmalkaldic War, leaving the blackened walls still visible today. Bernhard I rebuilt it as a modern bastion with two great gun towers and an underground passage that linked every defence point. Visitors walk along the restored curtain wall and climb the surviving gun tower. The 45-metre-deep well, now dry, still marks the heart of the fortress. Below, the Kohlbach valley stretches away under vineyards, while the Bergfried platform offers a wide view across the Kraichgau. The castle’s ruined halls and cellars recall the days when Göler lords turned their mountain stronghold into a home.