Hohenhewen Castle

The origins of Hohenhewen Castle date back to the High Middle Ages. The Lords of Engen-Hewen were first mentioned in a document around 1050. The castle itself was probably built in the early 12th century, but no later than 1170, by the Lords of Engen. In 1152, Walter von Hewen was the first to name himself after this new residence. From the 13th century, Engen served as the residential town of the Lords of Hewen. In 1291, the castle was enfeoffed to the Duchy of Austria and came into Habsburg possession as a pledge in 1398. Later, around 1415, it became an imperial fief. Under the Counts of Lupfen-Stühlingen, Hohenhewen developed into a robber baron's nest. Despite several sieges during the War of the Cities in 1441, the Swiss War in 1499, and the German Peasants' War in 1524/25, the castle was never captured. After the extinction of the Lords of Hewen in 1570 and the Lords of Engen-Lupfen in 1582, the castle fell to Count Conrad von Pappenheim.