Schnellerts Castle (Ruin) (Brensbach)

Schnellerts Castle is a castle ruin above the hamlet of Stierbach in the municipality of Brensbach in the Odenwaldkreis in Hesse.

The ruin is located on a wooded hilltop, the so-called Schnellerts or Schnellertsberg in the northern Odenwald. This hilltop marks the end of a ridge directed northwest towards the Gersprenztal, which, including the castle and the hamlet of Stierbach, marks the southern border of the Affhöllerbach district against Ober-Kainsbach, which belongs to Reichelsheim as a district.

From the now wooded hilltop, there was a good view into the Gersprenz valley and two side valleys, but especially of Nieder-Kainsbach and Fränkisch-Crumbach, which no longer belonged to the former parish and cent court of Kirchbrombach.

There are no documentary records about the legendary Schnellerts Castle in the Odenwald. Its historical context results from archaeological excavations of the 20th century and from the research history of the "Schnellerts" since the 18th century.

The name was transferred from the mountain to the complex. It was first mentioned in 1426 with the mention of a "snelharts wiese". The castle was probably destroyed soon after its construction. Finds indicate that this happened in the 13th century. According to recent considerations, the complex could possibly be assigned to a ministerial family from Hochhausen documented in the vicinity of the Counts of Erbach.

In 1742, the ruin was first mentioned in the "Reichenberg Protocols" of an Erbach bailiff, where the "Schnellertsgeist" (Schnellerts ghost) walks through the barns of the Haalhöfe. In 1756, the "Schnellertswiese" (Schnellerts meadow) belonged to the Haalhof in the Kainsbach valley below the castle. The legend of the Rodensteiner connects the Schnellerts castle ruin with the nearby Rodenstein Castle.

In 1840, the first summer festival took place on the Schnellerts, for which the castle area was leveled. In 1886, the ruin on the Schnellerts was recognized as medieval; until then, the complex had been considered a Roman fortification.

In 1972, illegal excavations took place on the mountain. Around 1975, the "Forschungsgemeinschaft Schnellerts e. V." (Schnellerts Research Association) was founded to carry out restoration work. By 1990, a large part of the walls had been conserved and restored.

In 1991, scientific follow-up excavations took place, and the excavation results have been published since 1995. The "Schnellertsmuseum" is located in the old town hall in Brensbach.