Burgstall or Castle Eselsburg is a ruined castle located above the town of Herbrechtingen

Herbrechtingen

Herbrechtingen is a town in the district of Heidenheim in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is situated on the river Brenz, 7 km south of Heidenheim, and 28 km northeast of Ulm.-References:...

 in the Heidenheim district

Heidenheim (district)

Heidenheim is a district in the east of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Ostalbkreis, Dillingen, Günzburg, Alb-Donau and Göppingen.-History:...

 of Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...

 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

Location

The castle is located about 50 m above the valley floor, above the Eselsburg section of Herbrechtingen. The central keep is located on the edge of a steep rock cliff (521 m above sea level

Sea level

Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

) that projects up from the valley floor. A semi-circular trench

Trench

A trench is a type of excavation or depression in the ground. Trenches are generally defined by being deeper than they are wide , and by being narrow compared to their length ....

 protects the castle on the other side.

History

Eselsburg was built around 1200 as the home of the Ministerialis

Ministerialis

Ministerialis ; a post-classical Latin word, used in English, meaning originally servitor, agent, in a broad range of senses...

 or unfree knights of the Graf

Graf

Graf is a historical German noble title equal in rank to a count or a British earl...

 or Baron

Baron

Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...

 von Dillingen. It is likely that an earlier castle foundation was reused to build the castle. In 1244 a knight named Gerwig (Gerwicus) von Eselsburg is mentioned in a document. In 1270, Rudolf von Eselsburg served the Graf Ulrich II. von Helfenstein. In 1284 another Gerwig von Eselsburg entered the service of the Bishop

Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg

The Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg was one of the prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire, which belonged to the Swabian Circle.-Early period:...

 of Augsburg

Augsburg

Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...

. Then, in 1343 the Eselsburger sold their castle and property in Herbrechtingen.

The castle then passed through several owners in the next century. In 1385 Wilhelm von Riedheim acquired the land. In 1414 Heinrich von Bopfingen acquired the property, which became an Imperial

Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

 fief

Fiefdom

A fee was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable lands granted under one of several varieties of feudal tenure by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the...

 in 1441. Then, in 1444 Rudolf von Bopfingen sold his half of the rights to the castle to Heinrich Krafft from Ulm

Ulm

Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...

. Heinrich then acquired the other half of the rights one year later from Sigmund von Eselsburg. In 1453 the Emperor released the castle from his ownership, and it ceased to be an imperial fief.

In 1462 the castle was burned by Bavarian troops, during a Reichskrieg against the Duchy of Bavaria. In 1479 the castle became the property of Eitelhans von Knöringen. Then, in 1503 the Lords von Eben took over castle Eselsburg. Christoph Friedrich von Eben sold the castle in 1562 to his brother in law Ulrich von Rechberg zu Falkenstein. Following a divestment of the property to the House of Württemberg

Rulers of Württemberg

This is a list of the rulers of the German state of Württemberg, originally a county and eventually a kingdom until the ruling dynasty was overthrown in 1918.- Counts of Württemberg to 1495 :* Konrad I 1089–1122...

 in 1593 the castle was emptied and began to decay. By 1690 the castle is reported to be "abandoned and totally overgrown".

Castle Grounds

Of the High Middle Ages

High Middle Ages

The High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....

 castle, only the trench and a few fragments of the wall are visible today.

The trench was cut from rock and about 5 m deep and 4 to 5 m wide. Additionally, behind the trench, a three sided wall protected the keep

Keep

A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...

. The angular trench is generally easy to follow, though the southern section is mostly filled in.

The remains of the rectangular keep (ca. 23 x 30 m) are built from a variety of rough finished stones and buckel stones

Rustication (architecture)

thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...

 (square stones with a rounded outer edge). On this site, according to the 1581 Renlinschen Forstkarte (Renlinschen Forest Map located in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nürnberg

Germanisches Nationalmuseum

The Germanisches Nationalmuseum is a museum in Nuremberg, Germany. Founded in 1852, houses a large collection of items relating to German culture and art extending from prehistoric times through to the present day...

), there were two fortified houses with saddle roof

Saddle roof

A saddle roof is one which follows a convex curve about one axis and a concave curve about the other. The hyperbolic paraboloid form has been used for roofs at various times since it is easily constructed from straight sections of lumber, steel, or other conventional materials...

s and a tower which was topped with a helmet. Between the two wings in east and west was the small courtyard. A fragment of the wall in front of the east building could belong to an inner wall.