Ehestetten Castle

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Landkreis Reutlingen

In the heart of Ehestetten, a Swabian Jura village that has been part of Hayingen since 1975, the former castle sums up several centuries of seigneurial history. The fortified site, at about 715 metres, is recorded in the early 14th century with Swigger of Ehestetten, of the Gundelfingen line. In 1364 the castle and village passed for 3,700 pounds to the Speth of Steingebronn family, who held them for a very long time. The manor house was rebuilt in 1495 on its old foundations. In 1517 village and castle were burned in a private war between Duke Ulrich of Württemberg and Dietrich Speth. A bastion was added around 1520, and the house was enlarged from 1583 before being turned into a residential Schloss in 1612–1615. Ehestetten passed to Württemberg in 1809, and the Barons of Bodman acquired the property in 1885. Restored between 1978 and 1987, the building is now a private residence.