En un regard
Le château en bref
In the village of Rappach, part of the municipality of Bretzfeld in the heart of the Hohenlohekreis, the Edelmannshof farm estate stands roughly on the site of a former medieval castle that has now almost disappeared. The stronghold appears in records as early as 1215, linked to the lords of Rappach, a minor local nobility who took their name from the village. It was a fortified residence protected by a water-filled moat, a typical configuration for the lowland or valley-floor castles of the region. Its decline came early: by 1341 the documents speak only of a "Burgstadel", that is, a castle site, a sign that the building had by then lost its function. Of this seigneurial residence only faint traces of masonry and of the moat survive. The very name of the estate, "the nobleman's farm", nevertheless preserves the memory of the noble presence here. The site, occupied by a working farm, is best seen from the edges of the hamlet.