Vellberg Castle

Vellberg Castle (Lower Castle) is a hilltop castle complex on the 360 m above sea level Feldberg, overlooking a loop of the Bühler river at the northeastern tip of the triangular town layout of Vellberg in the district of Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg.

The castle was built around 1200 by the Lords of Vellberg. In the 15th century, the Knights of Vellberg expanded the castle and the hamlet in front of it into a fortress and a market, making it the center of their dominion.

Destruction in 1523

In the mid-16th century, the robber knight Hans Thomas von Absberg terrorized the imperial cities in Franconia and Swabia. He kidnapped merchants on their trade journeys and demanded a high ransom for their release. He sought allies who would support him in his raids, on whose castles he could flee in danger and where he could hide his hostages. Wilhelm von Vellberg also supported him in his feud, hoping to replenish his dwindling riches. In 1523, the Swabian League finally sent its troops to raze a total of 23 "robber nests" to the ground. The League's troops, allegedly consisting of 10,000 foot soldiers and 1,000 horsemen, carried 100 cannons and 30 arquebuses as armament, for which they had 900 hundredweight of gunpowder. On June 11, 1523, they reached Vellberg Castle and destroyed Wilhelm von Vellberg's share of the joint inheritance castle.

The woodcut made by Hans Wandereisen clearly depicts the castle's location on a rocky promontory. The houses visible in the foreground of the cut are probably meant to represent the buildings outside Vellberg's walls. However, like many of the topographical features, their location is also depicted rather doubtfully. The troops of the Swabian League are in the process of demolishing half of the castle, which was owned by Wilhelm von Vellberg. Vellberg is the only castle besides Berolzheim that was not or not completely destroyed. (Main article: Wandereisen Woodcuts of 1523)

Further History

The building was rebuilt between 1543 and 1546 by Wolf von Vellberg and his wife Anna Treusch von Buttlar. The builders had their coats of arms carved in sandstone above the entrance portal.

Around 1857, the city of Vellberg acquired the building from the Württemberg Chamber Office, which served as the seat of the city administration until 2004.

The two buildings, which stand on the foundations of the former castle complex, were restored in the 1960s. The entire building has been in private ownership since 2008.