Holenstein Castle (Burg Holenstein)

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Landkreis Schwäbisch Hall

The Burgstall of Holenstein marks the site of a small, vanished hilltop castle, built on a spur at the confluence of the Reutebach and the Avenbach, near the hamlet of Holenstein, in the municipality of Bühlerzell, in the district of Schwäbisch Hall. Its history remains almost entirely unknown. The only written reference dates from 1389, when a certain Kunz Ruhe is mentioned as living at Holenstein, though it cannot be said that he occupied the fortification. Researchers even consider that the site may have been used only briefly, or perhaps never completed or inhabited. On the ground, only the castle mound and traces of ditches remain. A second, unnamed fortified site, known locally as the "Altes Schloss", lies about 200 metres to the south and overlooks the Bühler valley. The place is of interest above all to enthusiasts of castle archaeology and to hikers.