Burleswagen Castle

Burleswagen Castle, one of the oldest medieval castle complexes in the region, is situated on a spur above the Jagst Valley in the hamlet of Burleswagen, part of the municipality of Satteldorf in the district of Schwäbisch Hall in northeastern Baden-Württemberg.

The castle stands at an elevation on the "Neidenfels", the northwestern confluence spur between the river and the steep gorge called "Neidenfelser Klinge", through which the Entenbach flows into the Jagst from the east at almost a right angle. It empties about 50 meters below, next to the valley hamlet of Neidenfels, in the downstream confluence angle. The castle and both small villages are located about 1.6 kilometers west-northwest of the center of the municipality's namesake village.

The core of the present castle consists of a fortress, which is presumably to be dated back to the Staufer period. It was probably built in the second half of the 11th century, as suggested by the first documented mention in 1085 of an Ulrich and a Diemar de Burlougesuac, presumably a noble free family.

The castle itself, however, was first mentioned in 1323, when King Louis the Bavarian granted it as an imperial fief to Werner von Burleswagen.

After the extinction of the builders, the owners changed countless times; among others, the Knights of Üxküll-Gyllenband, originally from the Bremen area and having possessions in Sweden, the Baltics, and later also in Baden and Württemberg, temporarily owned the complex.

The castle and later knight's estate was destroyed during the Thirty Years' War and subsequently rebuilt. Since 1923, it has been in the private possession of the Thorban family.