Buchhorn Castle (Burg Buchhorn)

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Landkreis Schwäbisch Hall

The ruins of Buchhorn Castle lie hidden in the Limpurg Hills, at an altitude of about 463 metres, on the north-western spur of the small massif formed by the Adelberg and the Buchhorn, which the Adelbach valley separates from the rest of the range. The site belongs to the municipality of Michelbach an der Bilz. An old and unverifiable tradition attributes the residence to the counts of the Kochergau, but the documents mainly show the castle in the hands of the counts of Oettingen. In 1357 they ceded it, together with Kranzberg Castle near Laufen am Kocher, to Schenk Konrad of Limpurg for 4,000 pounds of hellers. The Limpurgs then enfeoffed it to the Berler of Tullau. According to the account reported by Heinrich Prescher, the place became a robbers' den; the town of Schwäbisch Hall decided to raze it, but the occupants, forewarned, are said to have set it on fire themselves before fleeing. Abandoned, the castle disappeared. Today all that remains are two ditches cutting across the spur to the south-east, backed by earthen ramparts, the other sides being protected by steep slopes. No masonry is visible.