Speckfeld Castle

The castle was probably built around the year 1200, the overlords of the complex in the 14th century were the bishops of Würzburg and Bamberg. The builders were the noble lords of Speckfeld, mentioned in documents since 1155, who descended from the noble free lords of Uffenheim and died out around 1300. Since 1306, a Vogt of the Lords of Hohenlohe has been traceable here, and from 1370 to 1384 it served as the dower house of Elisabeth von Hohenlohe. After the fortress was temporarily withdrawn from her grandson Johann von Hohenlohe in 1399 due to highway robbery, he bequeathed the lordship in 1412 to his brothers-in-law Count Leonhard von Castell and Schenk Friedrich von Limpurg. After the latter was able to buy the Castell half in 1435, his descendants, the Schenken von Limpurg, owned the castle until 1713. During the Peasants' War, Speckfeld Castle was destroyed on May 16, 1525, and then rebuilt. Another destruction occurred in 1558, when a fire destroyed the north and east sides of the castle. It was rebuilt in 1580. The Thirty Years' War (1618 to 1648) also left its mark on the castle, as it was plundered several times by Swedish troops and Imperial forces. It was also repaired again in 1624. The owner Vollrath Schenk zu Limpurg-Speckfeld moved to his new castle Einersheim in the town of the same name in 1693 and left Speckfeld Castle as his seat of power. In 1711, a daughter of the zu Limpurg-Speckfeld married the Dutch Imperial Count von Rechteren, and the family called themselves von Rechteren-Limpurg-Speckfeld from 1745 onwards. After that, the hilltop castle began to decay and was partly demolished and used as a quarry.