Sulzburg Castle

Besides mining, Sulzburg made history as the residential city of the Margraves of Baden – albeit for only a few years. Highlights of the residential period included the construction of the first castle complex in 1515, which had to make way for a much larger building ensemble about 80 years later. Today, only the east wing of the castle, known as the arcade building, a piece of the castle wall in the spa park, and a turret of the former city wall give an idea of the dimensions of the castle complex. For the past five years, it has no longer been the residence of the Margrave, but of the Kaupp auction house. Since 1972, Sulzburg's town center has been a protected monument for an entire ensemble of historic buildings, among them, in the southwestern corner of the old town center, the remains of the former Margravial castle complex.

On the site of four houses in the town center, the construction of the first city castle was begun in 1515 by Margrave Ernst of Baden. At that time, he had decided to move his residence to Sulzburg. The mining town now became the seat of government. The appearance of the castle can be documented and understood through various sources, such as drawings by the Basel painter and geometer Hans Bock the Elder and later by Merian's engravings.

Bock's drawing, which was probably created in 1575, shows an elongated building body, directly attached to the city wall and covered by a domed hip roof. The building, apparently two-story according to Bock's drawing, was built with half-timbering in the upper part. Margrave Ernst moved to Pforzheim as early as 1535. However, his third wife, Anna Bombast von Hohenheim, returned to Sulzburg after the Margrave's death, where the castle served as her widow's residence.

Connected with a considerable expansion, the castle complex experienced further development around 1590. This was related to the relocation of the residence of the Lordships of Rötteln, Sausenburg, and Badenweiler by Margrave Georg Friedrich.