Bouwinghausen Manor (Bouwinghaus'sches Schloss)

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Landkreis Ludwigsburg

In the heart of the small wine town of Großbottwar, in the Bottwar valley, the Bouwinghaus'sche Schloss, which locals simply call the “Schlössle” (little castle), is one of the landmark buildings of the old town. It stands on Heilbronner Straße, on the site once occupied by the town castle of the Rechberg family, which burned down in 1693 when French troops held the town to ransom and set it on fire during the Nine Years' War (War of the League of Augsburg). Its name recalls the noble Bouwinghausen family, notably General Alexander von Bouwinghausen-Wallmerode, who kept the diary of the Duke of Württemberg and who is presented in a portrait of 1792 as lord of the “Schloss” of Großbottwar. The building combines an engraved sandstone façade with half-timbered sections; its terraced garden, reached by a flight of steps, contains a commemorative stone and a fountain that flows day and night, while in 2023 local researchers uncovered an old spring chamber beneath the building. The residence can be viewed from the street.