Burg Oberrommental: A Medieval Ministerial Castle in Germany
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Germany
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Holy Roman Empire
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page4 sections
History
Burg Oberrommental is a former medieval hill castle in Germany, built around 1250 by the Knights of Böhringen, ministerials who served the lords of Spitzberg and Helfenstein. A ministerial was a member of the medieval service nobility who held military or administrative duties for a higher-ranking lord. The castle probably watched an early trade route from Oberböhringen to Süßen, linking Ulm with Schwäbisch Gmünd.
Medieval ownership
In 1396, Burg Oberrommental was sold to the Imperial City of Ulm. An Imperial City was a self-governing city within the Holy Roman Empire that answered directly to the emperor rather than to a territorial lord. The transfer placed the castle under the authority of one of the region’s directly imperial cities.
Place-name and administrative setting
The former castle lies in the Schlat Forest above the hamlet of Rommental. Rommental belongs to Schlat, while the castle site is within the Unterböhringen cadastral district of Bad Überkingen. Older literature therefore often assigns Burg Oberrommental to Schlat. The site is now a former castle location without a standing castle.
Remains
Burg Oberrommental occupied a hill spur on the northern extension of the Fränkel, at 553.4 metres above sea level, east of and above Rommental. Its surviving layout is represented mainly by earthworks and slight wall fragments. A neck ditch cuts across the approach to the spur, while parts of a shield wall remain among the ruins. A shield wall was a particularly strong defensive wall placed on the side most exposed to attack. A forest-workers’ hut now stands on the former castle site. The few surviving wall fragments can be seen from a path below the castle, and a small trail leads up to the castle plateau.
