Wasserschloss Bieringen

En un regard

Le château en bref

In the heart of the village of Bieringen, now part of Schöntal in the Jagst valley, the former moated castle perpetuates the memory of a medieval manorial seat. Sold in 1222 by the Lords of Krautheim to the Cistercian abbey of Schöntal, the estate was later granted as a fief to various noble families, including the Aschhausens and the Berlichingens, before being bought back by Abbot Sigismund Fichtel in 1631. The old castle, badly decayed, gave way in 1736-1737 to a new residence commissioned by Abbot Angelus Münch: a two-storey, five-bay house with a hipped roof, quoined corners and a string course, whose pilaster-framed portal bears the prelate's coat of arms. It became the parsonage of the parish of St. Kilian around 1800 and still serves that purpose; a footbridge links it to the church, and part of the moat has been turned into a garden.