En un regard
Le château en bref
Altgutenstein is the ruin of a medieval spur castle situated at about 640 metres above sea level, on the slope on the left bank of the Danube, opposite the village of Gutenstein, now a district of Sigmaringen. It is the oldest of the fortified sites associated with the name Gutenstein, to be distinguished from Neugutenstein, perched on a rocky pinnacle downstream, and from the modern castle that overlooks the village. Built in the twelfth century by the lords of Gutenstein, it functioned as a village castle controlling the settlement and the passage through this confined stretch of the valley. Its main feature was a keep of an almost square plan, very modest in size. By the mid-sixteenth century, the castle was already in ruins. Only faint traces remain, which an information board on site describes as remains of the walls of the residential tower, the bailey and the moat. The site, which is freely accessible, forms part of the hiking trails of the Upper Danube Nature Park, rich in castle ruins and limestone cliffs.