Neuenbürg Castle

Neuenbürg Castle is located in Baden-Württemberg, 12 km southwest of Pforzheim on an oxbow hill of the Enz river above Neuenbürg. In addition to gastronomy, it houses the branch museum of the Baden State Museum. The museum conveys regional history, e.g., timber rafting in the Northern Black Forest, and stages a "magical" show based on Wilhelm Hauff's fairy tale "The Cold Heart".

The castle was founded by the Counts of Vaihingen in the 11th century. It was acquired in 1320 by Count Eberhard I of Württemberg, who thereby sought to secure the western border with Baden. Few remains of the medieval castle, which probably already had the dimensions of the present complex, have been preserved.

Duke Christoph of Württemberg had the current castle built around 1550. Neuenbürg was intended to serve as a residence for members of the ducal family. Thus, a short-lived collateral line Württemberg-Neuenbürg emerged twice in the 17th century. The building still consists of two main wings converging at an angle, connected in the west by a bridge and in the east by a wall to form a quadrangle.

Despite several attempts – for example, in 1617 the hilltop on the south side was leveled and a pleasure garden was built by master builder Heinrich Schickhardt – Neuenbürg never became a ducal residence. During the Thirty Years' War, in 1638, Neuenbürg Castle and town were plundered, the people driven out, and the fields destroyed. The north wing was rebuilt after this fire between 1652 and 1659, and the remaining buildings were renovated. However, the south wing still retains its original simple three-story form of a functional Renaissance building.

Neuenbürg Castle was inhabited by ducal officials and was the seat of authorities and offices. Until 2004, the State Forestry Office was located here, which was transferred by an administrative reform from the state of Baden-Württemberg to the District Forestry Office of the Enz district. From 1940, the castle rooms housed apartments and a painter's studio. From 1953, the painter and sculptor Hans Ludwig Pfeiffer had his studios in the castle. His main work, the installation Theatrum Mundi, can be permanently seen at the site of his former studio in Neuenbürg Castle.

Since 2001, a branch museum of the Baden State Museum has been established here, and the castle rooms can be visited.