Wehrstein Castle (Ruin)

The first documented mention of the noble free lords of Wehrstein occurred around 1100, when Marquard von Wehrstein and his wife Gepa made donations to Hirsau Monastery. Their coat of arms, a golden anchor, is said to commemorate the rescue of a Wehrsteiner during a crusade with Frederick Barbarossa. The rule of the Wehrstein family, which lasted until about 1395, included the castle and the localities of Fischingen, Betra, and Empfingen, and was initially a Palatine-Tübingen, then Hohenberg, and from 1381 an Austrian fief. In 1318, Hiltibold von Wehrstein became Abbot of St. Gallen. By 1331, the castle had passed to Count Rudolf von Hohenberg. The Counts of Hohenberg pledged the lordship in 1373 to the Lords of Weitingen, who further expanded the castle. Duke Leopold of Austria acquired all Hohenberg possessions in 1381, making Wehrstein an Austrian fief.