Presteneck Castle

Presteneck Castle is a Renaissance moated castle in Stein am Kocher (a district of Neuenstadt am Kocher) in the Heilbronn district in northern Baden-Württemberg.

The moated castle, located in the south of the historic village below the Upper Castle, probably already existed as a castle in the Middle Ages. The village of Stein and the castles of Presteneck and zum Stein were sold by the Lords of Weinsberg to Kurmainz in 1335. Presteneck and the remaining part of the village came as a fief to the Berlichingen family. They were followed by the Echter von Mespelbrunn and then the Horneck von Hornberg as feudal tenants. In 1549, Eberhard von Gemmingen zu Bürg (around 1500–1572) bought Presteneck and the district. His son Hans Walther built the current moated castle of Presteneck in 1580 in place of the old Presteneck castle. After the extinction of the Gemmingen zu Presteneck line in 1831, however, this moated castle gradually fell into disrepair and was later sold by the heirs to the municipality of Stein. Previously, the Presteneck archive and library were moved to Hornberg Castle and significantly expanded the extensive collection already present there. The castle, surrounded on all four sides by a moat, was renovated from 1976 to 1981 and now serves residential and office purposes. There are still some historic farm buildings near the castle.