Burg Hielock

Burg Hielock stands on a gentle rise above the village of Mägerkingen, part of Trochtelfingen in the Reutlingen district. It overlooks the Seckach valley, which flows westwards to join the Lauchert after barely a kilometre. The site sits on a south-facing plateau about 740 metres above sea level, roughly 50 metres above the stream below. A shallow semicircular ditch separates the small plateau from the surrounding land. The name Hielock probably came from the place before it was given to the ruins. The castle was built early in the 12th century by Milo and Heinrich von Mägerkingen, local lords first recorded before 1138. They held the fortress until the family died out in the 14th century. Written records from 1208, 1210, 1212 and 1324 show the castle remained in use through the 13th century. By 1362 the last Mägerkingen lord sold his Württemberg lands, and the site appears to have been abandoned soon after. Excavations in 1890 by Professor Votteler uncovered the foundations of the main building. Today the remains cover an area of about ten by twenty-two metres. A low wall up to a metre thick marks the eastern corner of a rectangular tower or hall. The ditch and rampart still curve around the south side of the plateau. A local legend tells of the proud last owner, Roßmann, and his daughter who starved to death on the deserted site. Nearby a wayside cross called Rossmannskreuz dates from 1555, while a small shrine mentioned in 1454 stands close by.