Schalksburg

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Schalksburg is one of the largest castle enclosures in the Swabian Jura. It stands on a rocky promontory in front of the Alb escarpment, at about 910 metres above sea level, between the districts of Burgfelden and Laufen an der Eyach in Albstadt, roughly six kilometres south-east of Balingen. The site overlooks the Wannental and offers a wide view over the Eyach valley and the hills around Balingen. The promontory was already settled in the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. The medieval castle is among the oldest possessions of the Zollern family and, in the 14th century, was the seat of a junior line, the Zollern-Schalksburg. Sold to Württemberg in 1403, then pledged several times, it was besieged and destroyed in 1464, then rebuilt. Having fallen into disrepair by the mid-16th century, it was demolished on the orders of Duke Christoph of Württemberg. The ruins retain the remains of the keep, on which an observation tower was built in the 20th century. The Schalksburg is today a stop on the Traufgänge trails of Albstadt, notably the Felsenmeersteig. Burgfelden bears its image in its coat of arms, and a local legend places there a treasure guarded by two cursed young women.