Leofels Castle

Leofels Castle, also known as Lewenfels, is a Staufer-era castle near the village of the same name in the municipality of Ilshofen in the district of Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg, which has also owned the complex since 1976. The name refers to Latin leo (German: lion); an early 14th-century mention calls it Lewenfels.

The ruin of the spur castle is located at about 405 m above sea level above the Jagst valley on a valley spur, which is bordered to the southwest by the small stream incision of the only 800-meter-long Jagst tributary Leofelser Bach and to the east by a small old southern valley bay of the Jagst, and occupies its northwestern tip. On the remaining part, rising southwards to the hilly, agriculturally used Ilshofen plain, are the houses of the hamlet of Leofels, about 400 meters further north in the valley beyond the Jagst lies the hamlet of Hessenau at about 310 to 320 m above sea level, an old mill hamlet, which is connected from Leofels by a steep road that then continues downwards into the Jagst valley, while the valley above is impassable.

The castle was built during the time of Emperor Frederick II. In 1333, the Bishop of Würzburg sold it to Ulrich III of Württemberg. From 1399, Haug von Vellberg inhabited the castle and acquired it in 1409 as a Württemberg fief. In 1468, it passed entirely to the Lords of Vellberg. After the death of Konz von Vellberg, who left no heirs, it returned to Württemberg possession in 1592 and was probably uninhabited from that time on.

In 1707, lightning struck the castle. In the 19th century, still usable parts such as roof tiles were sold. Without the protective roof, the rapid decay of the buildings followed. The keep had already been demolished in the 18th century.

From 1979 to 2000, the multi-day Folk Festival Burgruine Leofels (later Festival Burgruine Leofels) took place almost annually in and around the ruin. The organizer was the now dissolved association Festival Leofels (e.V.). Among many other well-known artists, Long John Baldry, Whippersnapper, Liederjan, Colin Wilkie, Das dritte Ohr, Albion Band, Paul Millns, Thomas Felder, Oisin, Linnenzworch, Praxis, Emma Myldenberger, Peter Kirtley and Lilienthal performed there.

The castle is still used for theater performances and concerts in summer.