Willenburg Castle (Ruin)

The Willenburg, also called Schlössle, is a castle ruin near Schiltach in the district of Rottweil in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

It is located about two kilometers outside Schiltach above the old pass road to Rottweil, the so-called Schiltacher Steige, in the direction of Aichhalden, in the Black Forest.

The castle ruin is the remains of a high medieval castle that had fallen into oblivion and was rediscovered in 1959 by nature lovers from Schiltach based on speculation.

Its construction period is estimated to be around the year 1100. The builders were either the first Dukes of Teck, who are a sideline of the Zähringer, or even the Dukes of Zähringen themselves.

The Willenburg was intended to supply travelers; tolls were collected here, and the old trade route over to Rottweil was controlled here.

Thus, the Willenburg can be seen as the predecessor of the Schiltach castle/town complex, which took over the function of the Willenburg around 1250. A town with an associated castle could do this better. The Willenburg fell into disrepair from this point on. In the late Middle Ages, people already spoke of the Willenburger Burgstall, which indicates a lost castle.