Wunnenstein

Wunnenstein is a hill in the countryside of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The remains of Wunnenstein Castle stand near the summit. The hill has been a place of human activity for between eight and ten thousand years.

The castle was the home of Wolf von Wunnenstein, known as the Gleaming Wolf. He died in 1413, the same year the castle was besieged and destroyed. Only fragments of the castle survive today. In 1888 a tower was built from these remnants and from stones of the demolished St Michael’s Church. A ballad by Gustav Schwab, written in 1821, tells of the church bell called Anna-Susanna.

On Easter Sunday 1525 more than two hundred farmers gathered on the hill during the German Peasants’ War. The tower now offers a view across the surrounding countryside. Visitors can walk among the old stone walls and imagine the hill’s long history. The landscape is quiet and open, with fields and woods stretching out below.