Zollernschloss: A Late-Medieval Urban Castle in Balingen, Germany
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Germany
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- Holy Roman Empire
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page11 sections
History
Zollernschloss is a late-medieval urban castle in Germany, built by the Counts of Zollern-Schalksburg at the southwestern corner of Balingen’s town fortifications. Its foundations date to the thirteenth century and are associated with Balingen’s foundation in 1255, while the upper storeys were renewed in 1372. The Counts of Zollern-Schalksburg were a medieval noble branch of the wider House of Zollern, which held territorial power in the region before the castle passed to Württemberg.
Comital residence and Württemberg administration
The castle was originally a comital residence used mainly for habitation. In 1403, it passed to Württemberg through the purchase of the Lordship of Schalksburg. It then became the seat of the Württemberg Obervogt, a high-ranking territorial official whose responsibilities combined administration, jurisdiction, and military affairs. The office covered the districts of Balingen, Ebingen, Tuttlingen, and later Rosenfeld.
The Obervogt was a nobleman who lived in the castle with a household of approximately 20 to 30 people. The residence therefore served both as a home and as an administrative centre for Württemberg authority in the surrounding districts. This function continued until the offices of the Obervogt were dissolved in the eighteenth century.
Damage, repair, and changing ownership
The Thirty Years’ War, the major European conflict of 1618–1648, left the complex in severely damaged condition. After the war, the new Obervogt, Count von Kandel, who held office from 1649 to 1675, could not immediately take up residence. The Reiterhaus had largely collapsed, the main building could not be inhabited, and the walls, moat bridge, connecting passages, and bridge to the tower were in poor condition. Count von Kandel entered the castle only in spring 1651.
Georg Ehrenreich von Closen, Obervogt from 1675 to 1697, was also forced to leave soon after taking office because the entire gable end facing the Eyach threatened to collapse. The unstable section was demolished and rebuilt in 1681–1682 with a simple pointed gable.
After the administrative offices ended, the complex remained difficult to sell. Following almost sixteen years of unsuccessful attempts, the baker and brewer Johannes Pfeiffer and the tanner Johannes Hassis purchased it in May 1753 for 1,800 gulden. The Reiterhaus became a brewery and inn with guest rooms, while the main castle building was used only as a stable and barn. The castle and its associated buildings later formed part of the historic Balingen ensemble that survived the town fire of 1809.
Municipal acquisition and reconstruction
In 1911, the widow of the last owner sought to have the property auctioned. The State Committee for Nature and Heritage Protection and the Royal State Conservatory attempted to secure support for its preservation, while Balingen considered acquiring the complex for a district local-history museum.
The town purchased the castle and Reiterhaus in April 1920 for 65,000 marks. It first intended to establish a vocational school there, but expert assessment ruled out that use. Plans for housing large families were also restricted by the expense. In 1921–1922, two apartments were created in the Reiterhaus, and a youth hostel was established in the former inn hall.
In 1925, the building police required the castle either to be properly secured or demolished. A specialist in historic monuments argued that immediate demolition was unnecessary and that light protective measures would be sufficient. Pressure increased after the adjacent Wasserturm was renovated in 1934. In January 1935, the municipal council decided to renovate the castle. Work began in August, but demolition and the construction of a new basement proved unavoidable.
The castle was completely dismantled and rebuilt in 1935–1936, with as many original masonry and timber components as possible incorporated into the new structure. The rebuilt complex was completed with a topping-out ceremony in June 1936. Its subsequent use became the subject of a dispute between the Hitler Youth, the youth organization of Nazi Germany, which wanted the entire building, and the municipal council, which wanted a local-history museum. The museum received the two upper floors, while the Hitler Youth occupied two halls on the lower floors.
Later museum use
After a House of Museums was established in the neighboring Zehntscheuer in 1992, Zollernschloss became the home of Balingen’s Weighing Museum. The Reiterhaus continued to house a youth hostel. The complex thus retained a public and cultural role after its earlier residential, administrative, commercial, and educational uses.
Remains
The complex stands at the southern end of Balingen’s town centre, where the Steinach flows into the Eyach, and is integrated into the old town fortifications. A weir below the buildings diverts water into the mill channel that runs along the town wall. Three principal components make up the complex: the Wasserturm at the southeastern corner, the main building known as Zollernschloss, and the Reiterhaus. The former Zehntscheuer stands beside them and contains Balingen’s local-history museum and a geological section.
Fortified corner and principal buildings
Wasserturm
The Wasserturm is the only surviving one of the four former corner towers of Balingen’s town fortifications. A covered wooden bridge connects it with the main building. The tower retains old prison cells, preserving evidence of its former defensive and custodial role within the fortified town.
Main castle building
The main building has three masonry storeys topped by a timber-framed storey and a half-hipped roof, whose shortened hipped ends form clipped gables. A covered staircase beside the building leads to the town wall. On the town side, the castle was formerly protected by a wall and gate, as well as by an L-shaped moat extending between sections of the town wall.
The 1935–1936 reconstruction required complete removal of the original foundations and the construction of a new basement with a vaulted height of three metres. This work partly allowed later use for hospitality. Original components were reused in the lower masonry storeys, the timber framework, the interior uprights, and two wooden barrel vaults.
Reiterhaus and connecting passages
The Reiterhaus forms the third principal part of the complex. It was formerly linked to the castle by two superimposed passages along the inner town wall, while another bridge connected the castle with the tower. The building became a brewery and inn in the eighteenth century, later contained two apartments and a youth hostel, and continues to house a youth hostel.
The eastern gable, rebuilt in pointed form in the seventeenth century, was reconstructed during the twentieth-century rebuilding with a half-hipped roof. The entrance was moved to the ground floor, the stair arrangement was altered, and an event room with a kitchen and toilets was added. These changes do not correspond to the original arrangement of the castle.
Museums and surviving interpretation
The Weighing Museum occupies the reconstructed castle and presents approximately 400 exhibits tracing weighing technology from simple beam balances to shop and industrial scales of the twenty-first century. In the neighboring Zehntscheuer, Balingen’s local-history museum and geological section provide additional cultural and historical uses for the buildings beside the castle complex.
