Hofen Castle

Around 1250, the Counts of Württemberg erected this hilltop castle near the village of Hofen, first mentioned in 1120. Its strategic location served to secure an important Neckar crossing and a trade route. Cuno von Mühlhausen is named as the feudal lord during this early period. Following the death of Luithart IV., the last of the "von Hofen" family, in 1369, the castle passed to Count Eberhard II. of Württemberg, who enfeoffed it to the noble squires of Neuhausen in the same year. The Barons von Neuhausen remained owners of the complex until 1753, although it was severely damaged by fire during the Thirty Years' War.