Alt-Hofen Castle

Since 1218, the castle was the seat of the Montfort counts' ministerials. Heinricus de Houwen was mentioned as the first documented owner at that time. Until 1451, Hofen was a Montfort, then a princely fief. The castle was conquered and partially destroyed by the Swabian League of Cities in 1452. In 1456, Jos Mündelin appeared as a leaseholder. From 1467 to 1658, the lordship was owned by the Lords and later Counts of Raitenau. Around 1490, Hans Werner II von Raitenau had a new fortified building erected on the site of the present castle and left Alt-Hofen Castle to decay.

In 1579, the castle is mentioned as a castle site and uninhabited ruin. From 1585, the castle was used as a quarry for the construction of Hofen Castle. Further parts were lost due to landslides. Franz Andreas von Raitenau died in 1658 as the last of the Hofen line of the Raitenau family. In 1659, the lordship passed as a princely fief to the Count of Königsegg-Rothenfels. Until the 20th century, the owners changed quite frequently. On the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the "Kolchose Lochau" in 1986, the ruin was partially renovated, with particularly endangered structural elements being secured by underpinning.