ruin Hohenmelchingen
The ruins of the former castle - “castle” say the Melchinger - is located southeast of the village on the “Halde” at an altitude of about 820 m. Today it can no longer be seen from the village, as it is hidden by the forest.
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Description
The ruin is one of the largest castles in the area of the “Sonnenalb”. The castle was mentioned for the first time in 1344, when the Counts of Württemberg gave their share of it as a fief to Burkhard of Melchingen. After that, the castle was never entirely in one hands until the Werdenbergs succeeded in bringing it into full possession a hundred years later. No one knows today whether and when the castle was destroyed or whether it was simply abandoned to decay. In 1580, it was already called “Burgstall”, a term used to refer to dilapidated castles. In 1592 it is depicted on a map as a ruin. The 1. 20 m thick enclosure wall is about 240 m long, but has been demolished to the ground in many places.
Due to the location directly at the junction of the mountain plateau to the steep slope, the castle area is divided into a lower courtyard and a larger upper courtyard, which is about 6 - 7 m higher.
Today the castle is entered from behind through the ring moat. However, the main entrance used to be at the western end of the north wall into the lower courtyard, which is separated from the upper courtyard by a wall that probably once ran through to the main building. This building, known as the “Palas” in ancient documents as the “Front House”, has a pentagonal plan and still rises to the lower part of the 4th floor. The foundation walls here are 1. 70 m thick. Between the Palas and the southern outer wall, the path leads up to the upper courtyard, a large part of which is occupied by the “First Rock”. To the north, a smaller building adjoins the outer wall. A third building on the northeast corner pushes itself beyond the area of the actual ring wall. Even today, the walls are partly 5 to 6 m high. The narrow side is open against the courtyard interior. This building is probably the “back floor” mentioned in a document.
The “Fountain”, a cistern made of tuff stones with a diameter of about 1 m, is located in the eastern corner. It was discovered in 1911 and cleared to a depth of about 7 m.
Burggraben
The moat, which secures the castle on the east, south-east and south sides, is about 10 m wide and in places still 3 to 4 m deep. In the “Schnakenloch” at the easternmost point of the trench, it is presumed in Melchingen to be the entrance to a secret passage. It is supposed to lead down to the cellar of the former inn “Adler”, and legend has it that a goose has travelled this underground path before. All the explorations that each generation undertook anew, however, did not go too far
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Address
72393 Burladingen-Melchingen