Affaltrach Castle

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Affaltrach Castle, seen from the inner courtyard
Affaltrach Castle, street side

Castle Affaltrach in the district Affaltrach the municipality Obersulm in the district of Heilbronn in northern Baden-Württemberg goes to a medieval Komturgebäude the Catholic St John back, which after numerous conversions received its present form in the 18th century mainly. The listed building, which came into private hands in the 19th century, has been part of the Affaltrach Castle Cellars since 1928 .

history

Coming house of the Order of St. John

Affaltrach was first mentioned in 1262 when a vineyard was sold. In the village or on the south-sloping Keuper slopes of the salt mountain, viticulture has probably been practiced since ancient times . The place was owned by the Counts of Löwenstein and the Lords of Weinsberg in the late 13th century . The Order of St. John acquired possessions in Affaltrach from Gottfried von Löwenstein in 1278, and in 1289 the Order also received the right of patronage over the Affaltrach Church. In the same year, the order built a first comming house on the site of today's castle. The Kommende Affaltrach initially belonged to the branch of the Order of St. John in Schwäbisch Hall and later became independent. On July 4, 1333, Nikolaus von Löwenstein received the right from Emperor Ludwig IV to raise his village Affaltrach to the rank of town, which he did not, however, use. The Kommendehaus was expanded into a castle in the 14th and 15th centuries, renewed on the current floor plan between 1480 and 1507 and later rebuilt many times.

The castle and town were owned by the Order of St. John until the Elector Friedrich von Württemberg took possession of the Affaltrach, together with all the possessions of the Order of St. John, in Württemberg in December 1805 . The last Komtur, Franz Konrad Josef Freiherr von Truchsess, Herr von Appenweier and Rheinfelden (1737-1826), who had costly renovated the castle in 1788 and thus created its present appearance, remained in office as royal subprior and patrimonial until his retirement in 1809 . In 1812 he acquired the castle and the associated land from the Württemberg camera administration as a settlement compensation.

Changing owners after 1813

In 1813, Baron von Truchsess gave the castle to his housekeeper, Madame Feil, and her daughter Anna Maria. In 1825, shortly before his death, he gave Anna Maria Feil's husband, the kuk Oberleutnant Kaspar von Herling, claims for compensation from his lost possessions in France. After von Herling's death by poisoning on March 23, 1829, the castle passed to his daughters Nanette (wife of the Neckarsulm city school Poccoroni) and Franziska (wife of the Affaltrach post office owner Hertling) when the estate was divided in November 1829. The community of heirs again sold the castle to Johann Klaiber in 1875, and Klaiber after bankruptcy in 1898 to Christian Haug. After two further changes of ownership in 1900 (August Bräuninger) and 1917 (Hermann Weisse), the castle and the associated land finally came into the possession of the Affaltrach community on November 14, 1928, which put it up for sale again on November 26, 1928 .

The scope of the system was described in the municipality's tender from 1928 as follows: Rarely cheap offer! Mansion. Castle under monument protection, in perfect condition, 12 best furnished rooms, bathroom, stables, large barn with a large excellent cellar, then 65 ares ev. 120 hectares of vegetable and tree gardens in the most beautiful location of the Weinsberger valley, train station, suitable for any purpose. The purchase price demanded by the municipality was 40,000 RM.

Castle winery since 1933

On December 10, 1928, Willy Baumann (* 1884; † October 27, 1964) was found a buyer who intended to found a winery in the castle . Baumann came from a Gaildorf red tanner and wine merchant family, had run an export house for early vegetable specialties in Paris before the First World War, was interned for five years after the First World War and then took over the family business in Gaildorf. He had been married to Elisabeth Muth from Guntersblum since 1923 , who came from a wealthy winemaking family from Rheinhessen, who also financially made the purchase of the castle in Affaltrach possible. Baumann founded the Affaltrach winery , Willy Baumann , which was entered in the commercial register in Heilbronn in 1933. The company is still in the third generation of family ownership and has won numerous awards at Württemberg and national wine awards, including the DLG Federal Honorary Prize several times in the 1970s . In 1973 the winery produced a record wine with 292 degrees Oechsle . The son and successor of the founder, Reinhold Baumann, was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit in 1976. Thomas Baumann joined the company in 1984 and is now in charge of the Schlosskellerei Affaltrach Dr. Reinhold Baumann . The self-managed wineries, Dr. Baumann 'and' Freiherr von und zu Weiler'sches Weingut 'now have more than 40 hectares of vineyards. In addition, Schloss Affaltrach processes the grapes from the 'Weingärtner Producer Association Obersulm-Affaltrach eV', which has over 250 members and cultivates over 300 hectares of vineyards in many well-known wine towns in Württemberg. The production of sparkling wine as a supplement to the large range of wines was started in 1936 and has now been expanded to 35 varieties. In addition to its own brands, the focus of sparkling wine sales is on over 8,000 items of personal equipment for customers from industry and trade, the wine trade, upscale restaurants and hotels.

The castle building in the center of Affaltrach is surrounded by modern cellar buildings.

Literature and individual references

  • 50 years of the Affaltrach Castle Cellar 1928–1978 , Affaltrach 1978
  1. ^ Affaltrach in the Middle Ages . In: Obersulm. Six villages - one municipality . Obersulm municipality, Obersulm 1997. Pages 94–95

Web links

Commons : Affaltrach Castle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 49 ° 8 ′ 7.6 ″  N , 9 ° 23 ′ 2.2 ″  E