Stolzeneck-Zwingenberg-Minneburg

From Eberbach the valley runs sonic distance from south to north after formerly having run chiefly from east to west. Soon the friendly village of Rockenau greets us from the other side and only a little farther on we see on the same side, a short way up the hill, the ruins of Stolzeneck. All friends of old castle buildings will enjoy a visit here. A huge protective wall, built with frequent angles to increase the defensive power still gives us an idea of the strength of this proud fort. Everyone coming here for the first time will be astonished at the unusual height and thickness of the wall which until recently could be mounted. The oldest remaining parts of the fort, above all this wall some 69 ft high, was probably built as early as 1200. In the immediate vicinity of the ruins there are the remains of outworks built in the course of centuries to reinforce the fort. In summer most of the walls are hidden by trees. In the darkness and shade of the immense walls the ruins seem to the visitor to be full of secrets. It is now easier to get here since the path across the weir has been opened.

Hardly have we left the bend in the Neckar near Lindach when to the left, high up on the slope, Zwingenberg Castle comes into sight in magic splendour. It is in good repair and from below the whole scene makes just as fine an impression as does the fortified building when we enter the castle-yard. Up there in the courtyard we are still quite under the spell of medieval structure. Zwingenberg is the only castle in the Neckar Valley of which history definitely says that it was once a castle of the robber knights and was therefore destroyed in the 14th century by the Elector Rupprecht I. This Elector later had it rebuilt and gave it to the Hirschhorn knights in fief. They kept it until they died out in 1632. There was then a lawsuit lasting over 100 years for possession of the castle, the costs of the case for one of the two litigants alone amounting to 53.000 gulden. Zwingenberg Castle, whose exterior was considerably changed in the second half of last century by incorporating one of the buildings standing in front of the castle, is now in possession of the family of the former Grand Duke of Baden. At the foot of the castle, the long row of houses of the village of Zwingenberg stretch along the bank.


From the opposite bank or from an elevated point on the slope, the view of Zwingenberg is one of the most beautiful pictures in the Neckar Valley. Behind the castle begins the romantic Wolfs Ravine with immense rocks, said to have inspired Carl Maria von Weber for his Wolfs Ravine scene in his opera ,,Der Freischütz". The Margaret Ravine not far from here is a similar gorge.

If one is lucky one can see big, proud birds flying over the Neckar in this district, or watch them standing in the water not far from the bank. They are herons which build their eyries in certain narrowly limited forest regions between Zwingenberg and the Minneburg. They are under protection of the National Trust. With a few exceptions they only stay with us in summer and on this slope, probably sheltering the only heron colony in North Baden, there are usually 60 to 70 pairs. Formerly these beautiful birds, at one time hunted for their head feathers, settled in several places in the Neckar Valley. It is most impressive to watch from above how the herons with their slender light grey bodies sail across the surface of the Neckar. Sometimes one can see the black kite in their company. It lives more or less as a parasite among the herons, feeds itself on their leavings or even snatches away a heron’s fish booty in flight.

To the left we now see the large village of Neckargerach, well-known as a summer resort, high up on the other side, however, the extensive and very remarkable ruin of the Minneburg. As around many a castle along the Neckar, for instance also the above-mentioned Stolzeneck, a host of sagas have grown up around the Minneburg. A dog hewn in stone within the ruins reminds us of one of these. It is said to have led the knight returning from far-off lands to the hiding place of his faithful bride Minna von Horneck, where she had had to conceal herself from her own father. After firearms had come into use the Minneburg was again greatly extended and reinforced so that even its remains seem to us to be a fortress. It was probably destroyed in the Thirty Years' War. Large parts of the old buildings still remain and their walls make a deep impression on the visitor, but recently a lot of new damage could be discovered. The three-storied oriel is very pretty. Here, too, there was a projecting fort for purposes of reinforcement. The population still keeps the memory of a hermit who lived for a long time in the Minneburg in the 18th century.
Dieses Kapitel ist Teil des Buches The Neckar Valley. From Heidelberg to Wimpfen
034 Zwischen Saat und Ernte

034 Zwischen Saat und Ernte

035 Hochbeladen schwankt der Wagen

035 Hochbeladen schwankt der Wagen

036 Erntegespann auf der Fähre nach Zwingenberg

036 Erntegespann auf der Fähre nach Zwingenberg

037 Blick von Zwingenberg über den Neckar

037 Blick von Zwingenberg über den Neckar

038 Wie im Märchen - Burg Zwingenberg

038 Wie im Märchen - Burg Zwingenberg

039 Hort alter Sagen von Lieb und Treu - Die Minneburg bei Neckargerach

039 Hort alter Sagen von Lieb und Treu - Die Minneburg bei Neckargerach

040 Zauberischer Frühling - Blick von Lindach über den Neckar

040 Zauberischer Frühling - Blick von Lindach über den Neckar

041 Blütenbaum über Pflug und Schiff

041 Blütenbaum über Pflug und Schiff

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