Kapfenburg Castle

Kapfenburg Castle stands on a mountain spur of the Swabian Jura near Lauchheim in the Ostalbkreis district in Baden-Württemberg.

On the rock of a freely protruding mountain peak on the northern edge of the Härtsfeld above Lauchheim rises the former Teutonic Order castle Kapfenburg, consisting of various building complexes. The history of the Teutonic Order began in 1190 during the Third Crusade with the founding of a hospital community in front of the port city of Acre in Palestine. Already in 1198, the hospital brotherhood was transformed into a spiritual knightly order.

In 1311, Kapfenburg, belonging to the Counts of Oettingen, was first mentioned in a document. In 1364, Marquardt der Zoller von Rottenstein, Komtur of the Teutonic Order House Mergentheim, acquired Kapfenburg. It became the administrative center for the Order's possessions on the Härtsfeld and in the upper Jagst valley, as a commandery belonging to the Bailiwick of Franconia. The main entrance of the castle is formed by the bastion built in 1534. Under Komtur Johann Graf von Hohenlohe, the Hohenlohe building was constructed in 1538. Under Komtur Johann Eustach von Wersternach (1590–1627), lively building activity unfolded at Kapfenburg. On massive substructures, the main wing of the castle, the Westernach building, was erected, transforming Kapfenburg from a medieval defensive structure into a representative lordly castle. The eastern entrance facade is designed as a rich show facade. Further magnificent portals lead into the castle chapel and the knight's hall with stucco decoration by Gerhard Schmidt. Portraits of various Grand Masters and Komturs hang on the walls, which, together with large coat of arms panels, belong to the last remaining inventory of the castle.

During the German Peasants' War in 1525, the castle was attacked three times by rebellious peasants but managed to hold its own. Among the Komturs of Kapfenburg, Johann Eustach von Westernach was the most famous, being appointed Grand Master and Deutschmeister in 1625.

During the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), the castle was plundered. Only under the reign of Komtur Karl Heinrich Freiherr von Hornstein (1713–1718), who was open to building matters, did a phase of increased construction activity begin in the Bailiwick of Franconia. As house Komtur at Kapfenburg, Hornstein engaged Franz Keller, the master builder of the Teutonic Order, from 1714 onwards to redesign large parts of the old castle complex. In addition to Keller, Hornstein also managed to secure Franz Joseph Roth. Between 1715 and 1719, Kapfenburg received its current appearance.

Around the forecourt behind the bastion, Keller erected various utility buildings and the Lorenz Chapel, which Roth stuccoed. The Lorenz Chapel was originally intended as a burial chapel for Hornstein. Keller had the two residential floors of the Westernach building converted into bright and spacious rooms, which allowed the patron to represent and live in a contemporary manner. A small terraced garden was also created below the Westernach building.