Location: Neuffen, Baden- Württemberg Map
Constructed: 1100- 1120 by Mangold von Sulmetingen
Hohenneuffen Castle stands in the Swabian Alps on a mountain above a town of Neuffen in the Baden- Württemberg region of Germany. Hohenneuffen Castle was constructed in 1100- 1120 by Mangold von Sulmetingen on a site of a former Celtic religious site on a hill that measures 743 m (2437 feet) in height above a town of Neuffen. Hohenneuffen Castle survived several unsuccessful sieges, however during Thirty Years War in 1635 it was captured by the Imperial troops. The commanding officer of the garrison stationed here Johan Philipp Schnurm was promised advantageous terms of surrender, but after he gave his fortress all these promises were broken. His troops were drafted into Imperial Army and all possession of the former commandant were taken away. Military fortifications of the stronghold were badly damaged and abandoned. King Frederick William I of Prussia attempted to reconstruct dilapidated building in the 18th century. However he didn't complete it. In 1801 the castle officially became a quarry for local peasants. Much of the towers and walls of Hohenneuffen Castle were demolished at the time. Only in the 19th century reconstruction and preservation of the castle has began.
The Hohenneuffen was already settled in ancient
times. In the late Celtic La Tène period (450 to 1 BC) it formed an
outpost of the well-known Heidengraben oppidum, which included the
entire "Erkenbrechtsweiler peninsula" of the Swabian Alb.
The
origin of the name (1206 Niffen) is controversial. On the one hand,
it is traced back to a Celtic word * Nîpen and then interpreted as a
"battle castle". Another etymology derives the name from Germanic *
hnîpa with the meaning "steep slope, mountain slope".
The
castle was built between 1100 and 1120 by Mangold von Sulmetingen,
who later called himself von Neuffen. It was first mentioned in a
document in 1198, at that time owned by the Noble Free von Neuffen,
to which the minstrel Gottfried von Neifen belonged. At the end of
the 13th century the castle went to the Lords of Weinsberg, who sold
it to the House of Württemberg in 1301. The castle proved its
ability to defend itself in the internal conflicts of the Holy Roman
Empire (the Imperial War), in which it could not be taken in 1312.
The expansion of the Hohenneuffen into a state fortress began as
early as the 15th century. The decisive building measures for the
fortified complex were not undertaken by Duke Ulrich until the
middle of the 16th century. The outer works, round towers, bastions,
a commandant's office, casemates, stables, the armory and two
cisterns were built. The fortification thus created existed for two
centuries without any major changes. In 1519, however, she had to
surrender to the Swabian Federation. In the German Peasant Wars from
1524 it could not be taken again.
The Hohenneuffen was
besieged for more than a year during the Thirty Years War. In
November, the fortress commander, Captain Johann Philipp Schnurm,
and the troubled crew decided to negotiate a surrender with the
enemy, which provided for a free withdrawal with weapons and all
belongings. On November 22, 1635, Schnurm handed the fortress over
to the imperial troops after a 15-month siege. Contrary to the
promises, the team was forced to serve in the imperial army, and
Schnurm lost his property.
A legend that does not correspond
to historical events says the following: The people at the castle
gave their donkeys the last grain that they had left, slaughtered it
and threw the filled stomach of the animal into the camp of the
enemy. Because they believed that the besieged still had enough
supplies, they lost patience and moved away. Since then, the donkey
has been the “mascot” of the city of Neuffen.
The Württemberg
Duke Karl Alexander wanted to develop the Hohenneuffen into a
fortress based on the French model in the 18th century; but he died
before completion, his successor Carl Eugen soon abandoned the plan
in view of the high costs and dubious military benefits. In 1793 it
was decided to demolish the fortress and sell the building
materials. From 1795 it was no longer used and finally released for
demolition in 1801. This started two years later. The residents of
the area were happy about the cheap building material. It was not
until 1830 that they began to secure the remains, and in the 1860s
the ruins were made accessible. In 1862 a restaurant was set up in
the building in the upper courtyard.
Like other fortresses,
the Hohenneuffen always served as a state prison, where important
prisoners were arrested and, if necessary, tortured. The fates of
some are known. A young Count von Helfenstein, Friedrich, fell to
his death in 1502 while attempting to escape. In 1512 Duke Ulrich
had the abbot of Zwiefalten Monastery, Georg Fischer, detained here.
The very old Tübingen Vogt Konrad Breuning was also exposed to the
prince's arbitrariness in 1517 and was beheaded after imprisonment
and torture in Stuttgart. In the 17th century, Matthäus Enzlin, Duke
Friedrich's Chancellor, suffered a similar fate. In 1737 Joseph Suss
Oppenheimer, the Jewish court factor and personal financial advisor
to Duke Karl Alexander, was imprisoned for a few weeks on the
Hohenneuffen before he was transferred to the Hohenasperg fortress
and executed in 1738 as a victim of a judicial murder at the gates
of Stuttgart.
During the Second World War, the Hohenneuffen
was an air station.
The three-country conference
The venue was chosen with care. The wide view of
the country and, above all, the drastic zone boundary between the
districts of Reutlingen and Nürtingen, a few kilometers away, should
impress. Separated from their governments and the public, the
participants wanted to debate objectively, well served with valley
wine. In the end, an agreement did not come about, but the meeting
had given impetus and important groundwork had been set. This
three-country conference on the Hohenneuffen thus marks the
beginning of the long-term dispute about the formation of the
south-western state of Baden-Württemberg, which was launched in
1952.
On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of this
conference, the district administrator of the Esslingen district,
Heinz Eininger, handed over an information board for the
three-country conference in 1948 on October 6, 2008, which was
installed in the historic conference room.
Todays use
Today the Hohenneuffen with its restaurant, beer garden and kiosk is
a popular destination. Entry to the castle is free. The casemates,
some of which are accessible, are worth seeing.
Every year in
June the Hohenneuffen mountain run takes place, in which the runners
cover a distance of 9.3 km and 438 meters of altitude from the start
in Linsenhofen. The organizers of the mountain run are TSV Beuren
and TSV Frickenhausen. Many other events take place at the castle,
such as a medieval market or concerts in the castle courtyard. In
the summer season, a “falconry spectacle” takes place here on
Sundays and public holidays, where many birds of prey are shown in
free flight. From April to October, on the 2nd Sunday of the month,
the Church in the Green takes place.
The lighting of the
outer walls on Sundays and public holidays is also very impressive.
The facility, originally donated by the Neuffen citizen Otto Krieg
in the 1950s, was completely renovated in 1984 by the Stadt- und
Kulturring Neuffen e.V. and is also maintained by them.
On
May 3, 2014, a Staufer stele was inaugurated at the entrance to the
castle in front of the Friedrichsbastion, commemorating the
collaboration between the Lords of Neuffen and the Hohenstaufen.