Kapfenburg Castle

The first documented mention of Kapfenburg dates back to 1311, when it was still owned by the Counts of Öttingen. In 1364, Marquardt der Zoller von Rottenstein, a commander of the Teutonic Order house in Mergentheim, acquired Kapfenburg. It subsequently became the administrative center of a Teutonic Order commandery belonging to the Bailiwick of Franconia. During the Peasants' War in 1525, the castle was attacked three times without success. Construction measures shaped the complex: the bastion was built as the main entrance in 1534, followed by the Hohenlohe building in 1538 under Commander Johann Graf von Hohenlohe. Under Commander Johann Eustach von Westernach (1590–1627), the castle underwent renovation. The Westernach building, the main wing, was erected on substructures, transforming Kapfenburg from a defensive structure into a castle. During the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), the castle was plundered.