Steinheim Castle ruins (Burgruine Steinheim)

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Landkreis Ludwigsburg

On a spur of the southern slope of the Burgberg, a hill of about 286 metres a little over a kilometre east of the centre of Steinheim an der Murr, traces survive of the ancestral castle of the lords of Steinheim. Local tradition dates the stronghold to the Carolingian period, around 800, but its first written mention dates only from the 12th century. The castle is said to have been destroyed around 1250, in the context of the struggles between Emperor Frederick II and the papacy; a charter of 1269 already refers to it as a ruin, while a new residence was being built near the Lehrhof. The line died out in the 13th century with Albert of Steinheim and his daughter Elisabeth, wife of Berthold of Blankenstein and founder of the convent of Mariental. Long confused with the second castle, the site was only identified thanks to walls uncovered during the land consolidation of 1973. Today only levelled remains survive; the summit has been laid out as a viewpoint, with benches and a monument bearing bronze plaques that recount the history of the place.