Liebenau Castle

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Allemagne entière

On the wooded ridge separating the Neckar valley from the Autmut valley, about 1.3 km south-east of Neckartailfingen, lie the discreet remains of Liebenau Castle. No walls are left standing: the attentive walker can make out a mound some thirty metres across, ringed on three sides by a ditch, along with an earth rampart and a few foundations. Around 1300 this hilltop castle belonged to a family of ministeriales bearing its name; a knight "de Liebenowe" is recorded as early as 1270. After several changes of ownership, including Berthold von Altingen in 1368 and later a member of the von Speth family, the fortress had fallen into ruin by the early 15th century. Today the site is a stop on the Jubiläumsweg trail of Neckartailfingen: a picnic area nearby offers a wide view over the valley and, on clear days, of the silhouette of Hohenneuffen on the horizon. A modest but evocative place, ideal for a walk between the forest and the Neckar meadows.