Germany · Restored
Zwingenberg Castle
Zwingenberg Castle (Burg Zwingenberg) is a spur castle on the right bank of the River Neckar in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, standing on a wooded hill spur above the valley. Built in the 13th century and substantially rebuilt after 1403, the complex today comprises curtain walls, several towers and attached residential buildings and remains a visible landmark above the river.
Its prime
1403
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1403
What Zwingenberg Castle looked like in its prime.
Perched on a wooded hill spur about 50 metres above the Neckar, the castle forms a long red-brown sandstone curtain-wall terrace punctuated by several towers: a tall, prominent cylindrical/square keep at the eastern end capped by a steep, dark conical/slate roof, smaller round towers with conical tiled roofs at intervals, and a central stone residential block with a stepped gable. Attached white-painted residential wings with ivy cling to the inner bailey; pitched clay-tile roofs and crenellated wall-walks complete the silhouette in its intact prime.
Its story
The story of Zwingenberg Castle.
Zwingenberg stands on a spur above the right bank of the Neckar where the river cuts through the Odenwald hills. The castle was the seat of the Zwingenberg family until their activities as robber knights saw them expelled in 1363, after which the castle was slighted by imperial order.
In 1403 the Lord of Hirschhorn received Zwingenberg as a fief and rebuilt it — the rebuilding behind the complex of curtain walls, towers and residential buildings that still marks the valley. After the Hirschhorn line died out, ownership passed between the Electorate of Mainz, the Electorate of the Palatinate and the Grand Duchy of Baden, and the castle is today owned by Louis (Ludwig), Prince of Baden.
Step inside
8 places to explore in 1403.
The record describes 8 distinct spots at Zwingenberg Castle — including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Create History
Recreate Zwingenberg Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1403 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate this castle →Whose castle
Clans who held Zwingenberg Castle.
The families that held Zwingenberg Castle for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Zwingenberg
Seat of the Zwingenberg family until their expulsion as robber knights in 1363.
Hirschhorn
Held by the Lords of Hirschhorn as a fief from 1403 until the line's extinction.
Baden
Passed to the Grand Duchy of Baden; currently owned by Louis, Prince of Baden.
