Hofen Castle Ruins

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Allemagne entière

Perched at about 670 m on a rocky spur of the Swabian Jura, the ruins of Hofen tower sheer above the Schlattstall valley, east of Grabenstetten. The spur, bordered on three sides by steep wooded slopes, could only be approached from the west, where two neck ditches and their earth banks cut it off from the plateau. The castle was founded in the 13th century, before 1323 at the latest, probably by the Schwenzlin family, ministeriales of the Dukes of Teck recorded from 1275, who later took the name "von Hofen". Burdened by debt in the 15th century, the lineage lost its stronghold, which was destroyed after 1478 and then abandoned; by 1553 it was no more than a ruin, and its demolition was ordered at the end of that century. Today a wooden bridge crosses the ditch in front of a gate rebuilt in 1986; sections of the curtain wall survive and, beneath the site, an enigmatic cavity. The place is easily reached from Grabenstetten or by a steep path from Schlattstall and offers, especially in winter, a striking view over the valley.