Berneck Castle Ruins and Buschel Chapel in Deggingen
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.2
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Germany
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Modern
- Civilizations
- German, Holy Roman Empire
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page6 sections
History
Berneck Castle Ruins and Buschel Chapel is a former hilltop castle and later chapel site in Deggingen, Germany. Built around 1250, the castle was associated with counts and occupied an elevated position above the settlement of Berneck in the Swabian Jura.
Medieval castle
The castle first appears in written records in 1288, when Count Konrad of Kirchberg of Berneck was connected with it. By around 1350, the stronghold had probably been abandoned. A document from 1372 names Peter of Berneck in Deggingen and Hans of Berneck in Ditzenbach, while referring to Berneck as a castle site rather than an active castle.
In 1435, the site belonged to the Counts of Helfenstein, a noble family whose possessions included castles and lordships in the Swabian Jura. Berneck was probably overshadowed by nearby Hiltenburg, which was also held by the Counts of Helfenstein.
Buschel Chapel
The Buschel Chapel was built within the former fortification in 1847, establishing a new religious use for the inner castle area. In 1860, the episcopal ordinariate of Rottenburg, the administrative office of the diocese, authorized the celebration of Mass in the chapel.
Remains
The former castle occupies a hilltop on the Swabian Jura escarpment above Deggingen, near Berneck, at an elevation of 746 metres. Its surviving layout is defined by two substantial defensive ditches cut across the approach to the projecting hill. An outer ditch with an associated rampart surrounds an inner ditch, while overgrown fragments of the castle walls remain visible. The inner castle area measures about 50 by 40 metres, and the entire castle grounds cover approximately 70 by 70 metres.
Castle earthworks
The two concentric neck ditches and the rampart preserve the defensive form of the former hilltop stronghold. The wall fragments are overgrown, but they remain part of the physical evidence for the buildings and enclosure that once occupied the site.
Buschel Chapel
The 1847 Buschel Chapel stands over part of the former castle site in the inner castle area. A fenced castle well lies in front of the chapel, with its well shaft still visible. Inside the chapel is a life-size Madonna dating from around 1730, an image of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
