Altroßwag Castle: A Medieval Hill Castle in Germany
Site at a Glance
- 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
Altroßwag Castle was a medieval hill castle northwest of Roßwag, in present-day Vaihingen an der Enz, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The Lords of Roßwag built it between 1126 and 1129. They belonged to the free nobility, a class of medieval nobles whose status set them apart from those dependent on a feudal lord.
The Roßwag family branches
Around 1300, the Lords of Roßwag reportedly divided into Altroßwag and Neuroßwag branches. Following an inheritance division before 1301, the Neuroßwag branch built a separate castle as its residence, probably beyond Roßwag’s municipal district. After that branch had no male heir, its castle passed into Württemberg hands before 1372. In 1394, Count Eberhard III of Württemberg sold it to Maulbronn Monastery on condition that it be demolished.
The Altroßwag branch died out in the male line during the second half of the 14th century. The castle passed to Lords Wolf and Jacob von Stein, who sold it to Maulbronn Monastery in 1394. The monastery had no use for it, and it fell into ruin early in its new ownership.
The Enz toll
A toll on the Enz, at the old mill site below Altroßwag, probably passed through the heiress Elisabeth to the Lords of Remchingen and then to the Lords of Sachsenheim. On 23 December 1479, the Sachsenheim lords sold it to Count Eberhard im Bart of Württemberg, a different ruler from Eberhard III, for 200 gulden. Eberhard im Bart later became duke.
Remains
Altroßwag survives as masonry and excavation remains on a steep slope northwest of Roßwag, near the northwest corner of its municipal district and the Enzkreis boundary. The site lies northeast above the first meander of the Enz between Mühlhausen and Roßwag.
