Ruine Hornstein

The ruins of Hornstein stand on a narrow ridge high above the Lauchert valley at 630 metres. First recorded in 1244, the site was home to the lords of Hornstein from at least the 11th century. In the 18th century the family transformed the fortress into a Baroque palace, but by 1787 they had sold it to the princes of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. After 1818 the castle became a prison and later a men’s correctional institution before being demolished in 1873. Only the baroque chapel survived, serving the local Christian calendar. The Förderverein Ruine Hornstein has stabilised the remains and opened the tower room above the chapel to visitors via a spiral staircase. Since 1997 careful restoration has shifted focus from safety to culture, and the association now runs workshops and storage spaces with LEADER support. The site hosts a large medieval spectacle each year, complete with knights, sword fighters, dancers, jugglers, fire-eaters and market stalls, while below in the Fäulesloch a tented encampment is filled with Alamannic, Norman, Scottish and Viking re-enactors. Visitors walk among the old walls and enter the chapel to see carved figures by Franz Magnus Hops and a 132-centimetre alabaster corpus of Christ by Joseph Anton Feuchtmayer. The chapel’s interior keeps the Christian year alive, and the tower room offers a quiet view over the valley. Seasonal events turn the ruins into a lively stage where history is felt rather than read.