Obergrombach Castle

The ruin of the core castle from the 13th century lies on a mountain spur east of the town center of Obergrombach. It has an oval floor plan and a Zwinger (outer bailey) with several shell towers. The preserved 25 m high keep with a wall thickness of approximately 2.40 m and a square floor plan of 8 x 8 m is attached to the complex outside the curtain wall on the east side, i.e., uphill. The neck ditch is also located on this side of the complex. Inside are the remains of two residential buildings. The outer bailey on the south side had to make way for the current palace.

The first castle complex was probably built around 1000 AD, but the successor building to this first fortified estate was only mentioned in a document in 1317; a "sloss grumbach" (castle Grumbach), which, however, has nothing to do with the current palace building, in 1256. The complex initially belonged to the Lords of Grombach, later, from 1311 to 1803, to the Prince-Bishops of Speyer, who used it to secure the southeastern border of their prince-bishopric. An expansion of the castle at the end of the 14th or beginning of the 15th century led to the sacrifice of the town's former church, which was replaced by the later castle chapel. This was first mentioned in a document in 1401. The construction of the four-story palas can be dated to the year 1461.

Bishops Raban von Helmstatt († 1439) and Ludwig von Helmstatt († 1504) expanded the fortifications.

During the Thirty Years' War, the castle was attacked and captured by the Bishop of Sötern. In 1633, Colonel Schmidberg besieged Obergrombach Castle, and in 1644, it was occupied by Major General Rossa. Later, part of the castle was destroyed by French soldiers.

The palace building, which is still preserved and in use today, was built by Damian Hugo von Schönborn between 1720 and 1723. Until 1803, it was used as a summer residence by his successors. Before it was acquired by Gustav von Bohlen und Halbach in 1885, the approximately five-hectare site, including the buildings, passed through the hands of, among others, members of the House of Baden, Lieutenant Leopold von Holzing, who had it restored in the mid-19th century, Count Ferdinand von Normann-Ehrenfels, who had Schönborn's building redesigned in a romantic style, as well as three Barons von Weißenstein, who, however, only owned the complex for three years, from 1882 to 1885.

Three years later, von Bohlen und Halbach also acquired the town's former synagogue and converted it into the palace or castle chapel. In the palace, he set up summer quarters for his family; winters were spent in Karlsruhe. The estate remains in the family's possession to this day, and they have also established a private cemetery there. Berthold von Bohlen und Halbach, from the family of Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, was buried here in 1987. The municipality named Gustav-von-Bohlen-Straße and Sofienstraße after the first owner couple from this family. After the Second World War, a public outdoor swimming pool was established on the palace owner's grounds, which was transferred to the city by the current palace owner, Eckbert von Bohlen und Halbach, a few years ago.

Obergrombach Castle and Palace can be visited during the Open Monument Day or at castle festivals. The palace chapel, which cannot be heated due to its valuable frescoes, is used by the Protestant community during the summer half of the year.