Wildenberg Castle and the Watterbacher House Museum

If you're looking for an historical outing that is a bit off the beaten path, a visit to Wildenberg Castle and the nearby Watterbacher House Forestry Museum may be just the place for an interesting day trip.

Wildenberg Castle (also called Wildenburg Castle) lies in the Odenwald in the Lower Franconian district of Miltenberg in Bavaria near the town of Amorbach.  This remarkable ruin, dating from the time of the Hohenstaufen dynastic period between 1079 and 1278, is considered one of the most important castle ruins in all of Germany. 

A visit to Wildenberg can easily be combined with a tour of the Watterbacher House Forestry Museum (see below) located less than a kilometer away in the little village Pruenschen. 

History

Wildenberg Castle was built sometime between 1180 and 1200 by the Lords of Dürn who were members of the retinue of the Hohenstaufen emperor and protective stewards of Amorbach Abbey. The von Dürn family took their name from their seat in Walldürn, and in the 13th century, they

Wildenberg Castle

had large possessions in southwest Germany. 

We first hear of the von Dürn family in relation to Ruprecht von Dürn, who was given the bailiwick of Amorbach Abbey and extensive lands in the surrounding area. Ruprecht was one of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa’s and Henry IV’s closest advisers and was a witness on many of their official documents. 

At the height of their influence, the von Dürn’s territory included almost the entire area known as the Bauland between the Neckar, Jagst and Main rivers and, south of the Jagst, included a strip of land running between Heilbronn and Forchtenberg. In total, they controlled an area of about 2,100 square kilometers. 

The decline of the Lords of Dürn took place as early as the middle of the 13th century. It is likely that Konrad I allied himself against Frederick Barbarossa during the emperor’s dispute with his deposed son, Henry. Prior to the family’s decline, however, around 1200, Ruprecht or perhaps his father or brother, Burchert, began the construction of Wildenberg Castle. Construction was completed by Ruprecht’s grandson, Konrad I.  

View of the Gate House

In 1251, Konrad I divided his territory between his three sons, with his son, Ulrich III, being given the property around Wildenberg; however, Ulrich was forced to sell Wildenberg to the archbishopric of Mainz in 1271 as he was under financial distress. The castle was later sold to the Amt of Mainz, and in 1350, it was enfeoffed to Eberhard of Rosenberg. In 1354 Conrad Rüdt of Collenberg redeemed the fief only to see the castle seriously damaged by an earthquake two years later. Shortly after, Archbishop Gerlach enfeoffed the castle, as well as the town of Amorbach and a free tenancy in Miltenberg to Engelhard of Hirschhorn. 

From 1368, Wiprecht of Dürn, Eberhardt Rüdt of Bödigheim, Fritz of Dürn and Eberhard of Fechenbach were castellans for the castle, with their descendants managing Wildenberg up to the 15th century. In the German Peasants' War, peasants from Heller Haufen, led by the infamous Götz of Berlichingen razed Wildenberg Castle on May 4, 1525. Since then, it has been a ruin. 

Castle Layout

Partition Wall in Courtyard

When you first see Wildenberg Castle, what you notice immediately, even in its ruined state, is the castle’s size. It covers an area of over 5,400 sq. meters, three times the size of an average German castle. The inner ward is 80 meters long. and has survived largely in its original state since the  Hohenstaufen period. 

The oldest parts of the castle complex are the inner and outer bailey. The relatively small outer bailey lay between the rising ridge and the inner bailey and was separated from both by a trench. Today nothing remains of the outer bailey except a few bridge piers which provide evidence of how the castle inhabitants moved between the two areas. On the ridge above the outer bailey, you can see the remains of a hunting lodge that was never actually completed. 

Upper Windows of the Gate House

In contrast to the structures of the outer bailey, those in the inner bailey are in good condition. Today, visitors access the inner bailey by way of the still-impressive gate tower, the upper floor of which housed the castle’s chapel, The St. George Chapel. To the left of the gate you can see two windows, belonging to a guardhouse, which was built with an adjoining residential building in 1485. This was accessed from the middle courtyard. 

The Bergfried

In its heyday, the inner bailey was divided into three areas. The center courtyard, most importantly, contained the well with its housing structure. Built into the southwestern curtain wall there were numerous residential and farm building whose windows can still be seen on the wall. In the south, there were additional buildings as well as the diagonally-oriented Bergfried and shield wall.

Palac Windows

In the north, lies the ornate residential palace with an adjacent defensive tower. The interior of the palace is partially preserved with, among other things, some pillars, a large chimney, beam supports, beam holes and numerous window openings. The numerous ornamental elements on the upper floor windows and the richly decorated vaulting points indicate the prestige of this impressive building

Artist's Reconstruction

In the years 1400 to 1511, the castle was extended in a late medieval style. The west tower and a partition wall in the middle of the courtyard were built and the castle chapel renovated. Apart from these changes, however, there have been hardly any structural alterations to the castle in the post-Hohenstaufen period.  The fact that the castle retains so many original features is why Wildenberg, despite its ruinous state, is regarded as one of the best preserved Hohenstaufen castles in Southern Germany.

Parzival and Wildenberg Castle

Wildenberg is rumored to be the castle mentioned in Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival, a verse novel of court literature written in Middle High German sometime between 1200 and 1210. Von Eschenbach,  in the fifth book (Die Gralsburg), mentions the Wildenberg specifically: "Who saw such a great fire/Here by us in Wildenberg?" It is possible, therefore, that Wolfram von Eschenbach wrote part of the novel here; however, other castles have also been suggested as the subject of the novel, or the author may have simply based his description on contemporary court literature.

Watterbacher House Forestry Museum

The Watterbacher House, so named for its original location in Watterbach-Kirchzell, is considered to be the oldest preserved farmhouse in the Odenwald. Its owners in Watterbach wanted to demolish the house in order to build a new building in its place, so the building had to be moved to a different location. The old farmhouse was first moved to Breitenbach in 1966 and then to its present location in Preunschen in 1981. Tests on wood samples from the house point to its construction being sometime around 1475. The medieval half-timbered house was what is called a residential stable, with an enclosure for animals and the living quarters for the family under one roof. This was a common practice in the Odenwald during that time. The Watterbacher House opened as a museum on August 1, 1997, exploring forest history development throughout the ages. 

Visiting Wildenberg Castle and the Watterbacherhaus

From October to March the Watterbachaus is open on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 16:00. From April to September, it is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 to 17:00  and outside opening hours on request. It is located at Dorfstrasse 4, 63938, Kirchzell-Pruenschen.

The castle is open year around, and, except during cultural events, is free to the public. It is located about a 20 minute walk from the museum where you will see directional signs. You will need to wear comfortable shoes for the walk.