Herrenzimmern Castle (Ruin)

Already in the second half of the 11th century, an upper and a lower castle are said to have existed in Herrenzimmern. Herrenzimmern Castle, also known as the “Lower Castle,” was owned by Gottfried, Baron of Zimmern, during the Werdenberg Feud. In 1501, he transferred the complex to his legitimized bastard son Heinrich, who subsequently bore the name von Zimmern. A fire destroyed the castle in 1504, but Heinrich rebuilt it. Due to financial difficulties, Heinrich later had to cede the castle to Wilhelm Werner von Zimmern, who further expanded it and housed his extensive library and cabinet of curiosities there. His nephew Froben Christoph von Zimmern used these sources for his famous Zimmern Chronicle.