Burg Schwabsburg: A Medieval Castle in Nierstein, Germany
Visitor Information
Google Rating: 4.5
Popularity: Low
Country: Germany
Civilization: Medieval European
Site type: Military
Remains: Castle
History
Burg Schwabsburg is located in the municipality of Nierstein in modern-day Germany. This castle was constructed by the Staufer dynasty, an influential medieval German royal family, around the early 13th century.
The initial foundation of Schwabsburg dates back to approximately 1210. Its first known mention appeared in a royal document issued in 1257 by Richard of Cornwall. This record highlights the castle’s importance as a strategic defensive site along the Rhine River during the Staufer period. In the 14th century, the castle’s control temporarily passed to the Archbishop of Mainz after it was pledged by the empire for a term of 60 years. Later on, it came under the ownership of the Electors Palatine, a prominent princely line of the Holy Roman Empire.
In 1316, Emperor Ludwig IV granted the castle as a fiefdom to Knight Wigand von Dienheim in recognition of his distinguished status. Several centuries later, during the devastating Thirty Years’ War, the castle was destroyed early in the conflict, around 1620, by troops commanded either by Spanish general Ambrosio Spinola or Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba. After changing hands and following a public auction, the remaining structures of Schwabsburg were dismantled in the year 1799.
Remains
At present, only parts of Burg Schwabsburg’s original construction survive, with the most prominent feature being the bergfried, or main tower, along with fragments of the surrounding defensive wall. The bergfried was built nearly square in shape, measuring just over 10 meters on each side near its base and tapering slightly towards the top. Due to the uneven ground beneath it, the tower’s height varies between roughly 22 and 24 meters.
The walls of the bergfried are impressively thick, approximately 3.5 meters, and composed of large, roughly finished stone blocks known as rusticated ashlar. The entrance to the tower is set above ground level on the northeast side; it is a rounded arch door measuring just over 1.5 meters in height, accessed via three stone steps and secured with a lock.
Inside, a straight stone staircase with modernized steps leads upward to a steel spiral staircase added in the mid-20th century, which ascends 65 steps. After 44 steps, visitors reach the original doorway to the tower, situated about 11 meters above the ground on the southwest face. From this landing, a narrower stone stairway climbs 28 steps to the upper viewing platform. This platform extends slightly beyond the tower’s northeast wall by over two meters and benefits from weather protection.
The bergfried’s defensive design included a shield wall on its west side that measured nearly three meters thick. The tower was equipped with a few narrow arrow slits to support archers but did not contain windows, which is why a modern lighting system with motion sensors has been installed inside for visibility. Remaining ring walls near the tower complete the visible outline of the castle’s fortified perimeter.
