Hornberg Castle

Hornberg Castle, originally known as Hornburg or Burg Hornberg, is a Staufer-era castle complex in the Hohenlohe region, built as a shield wall castle. After its partial destruction in the German Peasants' War, the main buildings of the core castle were rebuilt in the style of pre-Baroque castles. The complex is situated on a mountain spur north above the Jagst river, which flows southwest here, on the outskirts of the village of Hornberg. The formerly independent municipality of Hornberg is now a district of the town of Kirchberg an der Jagst, which is located on the opposite bank of the Jagst, in the district of Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg.

The spur castle was built on a mountain spur 390.3 m above sea level, formed by the very steep north bank of the river, which originated as a slip-off slope of the Jagst, and the gorge-like valley of the Steinbach, which flows into the Hohenlohe plain towards the Jagst. This mountain nose thus offers a strategically ideal location for a hilltop castle.

In 1216, the nobles of Sulz built Hornberg Castle as a satellite castle to their ancestral castle, Sulz Castle. This stood on the opposite side of the Steinbach gorge, on a hill above the Jagst ford. It was destroyed in the Peasants' War in 1525. Today, only a castle mound remains of it.

Hornberg Castle was built to additionally secure the connecting road between the imperial cities of Hall and Rothenburg, which led through the Steinbach gorge. Shortly thereafter, the von Sulz family built Kirchberg Castle on the other bank of the Jagst above the ford, from which Kirchberg Castle and the town of Kirchberg developed. This served, together with Sulz Castle, to secure the Jagst crossing, which consisted only of a ford, through which the then very important long-distance road led. All three castles were Staufer imperial castles.

In the years after the castle's reconstruction, the village of Hornberg emerged, taking on the function of an outer bailey for the castle complex, which was built solely as a core castle.

The castlemen of Hornberg were close relatives of the Sulz family and named themselves after the castle, Lords of Hornberg. In the 13th century, they were imperial ministerials of Rothenburg. Afterwards, the castle was owned by several proprietors, thus being a joint inheritance castle. In 1339, Albrecht von Hohenlohe-Uffenheim acquired the castle and its lordship. From 1354, the Lords of Crailsheim were mentioned as co-owners of the castle. In 1360, fortifications were built to secure the castle. In 1373, Gerlach von Hohenlohe received the privilege from the emperor to build a town in Hornberg and hold a weekly market. However, these rights were never exercised for financial reasons. In 1406, the Hohenlohe family pledged Hornberg to the Bishop of Würzburg. Since 1504, the von Crailsheim family has appeared as the sole owners of the complex and remains so to this day. In 1525, the castle was partially destroyed in the Peasants' War. In the following decades, it was rebuilt and converted into a Renaissance castle. In 1588, the Zwinger (outer bailey) was rebuilt and farm buildings were constructed. In 1599, the west wing was rebuilt. In 1647, the outer castle courtyard was transformed into a generously laid out castle garden.

In 1944/45, the complex suffered significant damage to the roof area during World War II, which, however, could be quickly repaired by the owners after the end of the war.