Upper Castle (Lauffen am Neckar)

Today's house at Heilbronner Str. 24 in the southwest of the city wall, built in 1809 on the cellar of the Upper Castle

West facade with old toilet bay

The Upper Castle , also called the Old Castle , in Lauffen am Neckar in Baden-Württemberg is a stone house that was removed in the 17th century from the time the city was founded around 1200. It formed the southwest corner of the city ​​fortifications .

history

The upper castle was probably built during the founding of the city under the Counts of Lauffen around 1200. Due to its location in the southwest corner of the city wall, it fulfilled a defensive function between the Old Heilbronner Tor and the Lower Gate, which no longer exists today. The first written testimony, which presumably relates to the building, dates from April 30, 1296, when a rugger from Bönnigheim sold the house and the associated farmstead to Knight Bernger von Klingenberg . The associated facility was probably the later tithe barn at the Old Heilbronner Tor.

When Lauffen became part of Württemberg in the 14th century , the castle also passed from the lower nobility to the new sovereigns and became the seat of the bailiff . According to the winery inventory book of 1537, the wood from the city forest was to be delivered here. Already at the end of the 16th century the building fell into disrepair after the Vogt had moved his seat to the safer Count's Castle during the Thirty Years War . In 1697 the roof structure collapsed and there were repeated looting by the citizens of Lauffen. Finally, the Württemberg state sold the ruins, which only consisted of a spacious cellar and outer walls, to a private individual in 1710. In 1728 there were again plans for a buyback when an entrepreneur in Lauffen planned to build a factory and a prison ; Ultimately, the choice of location fell on Ludwigsburg .

Relics

The arched cellar entrance , which was newly laid out in 1716, and a medieval lavatory on the southern city wall still bear witness to the old castle . Today the striking building Heilbronner Strasse 24 is located in the basement. The private house has a half-hip roof and was probably built in 1809. The barn belonging to the castle has been demolished in the meantime and the Städtle kindergarten is located on the site of the former tithe barn .

literature

• Otfried Kies: 750 years first city mention . In: Home book of the city of Lauffen am Neckar on the occasion of the big city festival in 1984 . City of Lauffen am Neckar, Lauffen am Neckar 1984, p. 120-132 .

Coordinates: 49 ° 4 ′ 33 ″  N , 9 ° 9 ′ 36 ″  E