Fautsburg

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Landkreis Calw

Perched above the Rehmühle in the wooded valley of the Kleine Enz, the Fautsburg lies in Aichelberg, a district of Bad Wildbad (Calw district, Baden-Württemberg). First mentioned in 1276, when it belonged to the Counts of Calw, this castle may have been built as early as the late 12th century. It later passed to Württemberg in two halves, the first acquired in 1323 from the Lords of Hornberg. A fief of the reformer Johannes Brenz from 1561 to 1570, then of Hirsau Abbey, it was already falling into ruin by 1604 and long served as a quarry. What remains is chiefly the keep, rebuilt in the early 1960s and roofed in 2007, along with a few sections of wall. Open to the public since 1967, its platform offers a fine view over the valley, and a historical trail of about ten kilometres, lined with information panels, tells its story.