Two epochs dominate the history of the Castle Hohennagold: the Celtic Age and the Middle Ages. Around 500 B.C. there was a fortified celtic settlement on the Castle Mountain, which was supposedly the home of a Celtic Prince. There are no visible remains of this fortification.
During the 8th Century, the Counts of the Province of Nagold (Nagoldgaugrafen) ruled over the franconien King’s Court, which Remigius Church was a part of. It is possible, that there was a castle on the mountain at this time. Descendents of the Counts of the Province of Nagold were the Counts, and later the Palatine Counts, of Tübingen. The oldest remains of the castle date before 1200. Through a marriage at about 1230, Nagold then belonged to the Counts of Hohenberg, who then expanded the fortification. In 1363, the Counts of Württemberg bought Nagold with its castle from the impoverished Counts of Hohenberg. Shortly before the end of the Thirty-Years-War (1618-1648), on the first Sunday in Advent 1645, troops of the Electorate of Bavaria conquered the fortification and destroyed it. By order of the Duke of Württemberg, the castle was torn down.
The still stately ruins, from which one has a magnificent view of the town and its surroundings, have been thoroughly repaired in recent decades.
The castle ruins are freely accessible at all times. You can climb the castle hill via various hiking trails through the nature reserve. As the parking lot on the castle hill offers only very limited parking possibilities, visitors are asked to use the parking lots in town and to reach the castle ruins via these hiking and walking trails. You will be rewarded with a wonderful view of the Heckengäu, the Black Forest and, in good weather, as far as the Swabian Alb.
