Honburg Castle (Ruin)

The ruin known as Honberg Castle, located above the Danube Valley (642 m above sea level) on the Honberg of the same name at 739 m above sea level, in the middle of the Baden-Württemberg district town of Tuttlingen on the Danube, dates back to a fortress and was never a castle in the strict sense. In the late Middle Ages, it was one of the most important Württemberg state fortresses.

The Honberg Fortress was built in 1460 by Count Eberhard im Bart. In 1645, during the Thirty Years' War, the complex was destroyed down to its foundations. The destruction of the fortress was carried out by the garrison itself on the orders of Konrad Widerholt, the commander of Hohentwiel Fortress, to protect the city of Tuttlingen from the superior enemy (at least, so says the plaque on one of the towers). Other opinions state that the walls were already dilapidated by the Battle of Tuttlingen in 1643. Later, the ruin was further damaged because the stones were used for the construction of the Schwäbische Hüttenwerke Ludwigstal. After the city fire of 1803, many stones were used as building material for the reconstruction of the city. Only in the 19th century were the two towers of the castle rebuilt with donations collected by a support association, though not in their original form.