Eybach Castle (Schloss Eybach)

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Landkreis Göppingen

Eybach Castle stands in the village of Eybach, now part of Geislingen an der Steige, at the foot of the rock that once bore the castle of Hoheneybach. The lordship belonged to Ellwangen Abbey before being bought in 1456 by the Degenfeld family, who were enfeoffed with it the following year. Between 1540 and 1546, Martin von Degenfeld had a first Renaissance residence built in the valley, which became the main residence after the hilltop castle was destroyed during the Thirty Years' War. Count August Christoph von Degenfeld-Schonburg later had the whole complex rebuilt: the main building dates from 1766–1772 and the east wing from 1772–1775, under the direction of Johann Adam Groß the Younger, building inspector of the Duchy of Württemberg. The building illustrates the transition from Rococo to Neoclassicism, the so-called "Zopfstil". It forms an unfinished four-wing complex: a two-storey south wing under a mansard roof with a central projection facing the park, an east wing and two farm buildings closing the courtyard. The two entrance pavilions date back to the 16th-century residence. The castle still belongs to the Counts of Degenfeld-Schonburg.