Breitenthal Castle

North of Weigendorf and southeast of Öd, high above the lower Lehental valley, a rock reef rises. On it stood a remarkably strong tower castle, of which considerable remains were still visible in 1955. The castle was naturally protected on the north, west, and south by the steep slope of the terrain. To the east, the complex was secured by a deep, double ditch system. In the time of Hellmut Kunstmann, the remains of the supposedly once almost square, presumed residential tower still stood up to a height of 2.2 meters. The Nuremberg castle researcher estimated a wall thickness of no less than 3 to 4 meters and an imposing outer side length of about 15 meters. On the north side, he also noted a smaller rectangular depression, which is said to indicate another building.

Hellmut Kunstmann, Gustav Voit, and younger authors have identified the castle ruin in their publications with the "Turm im Weidental" [cf. Hartmannshof], destroyed by Nuremberg troops in 1325, although the location reference "im Weidental" clearly contradicts this. Furthermore, a document from the archive of the Nuremberg Tetzel Foundation dated May 6, 1416, was overlooked. With it, Altman Kemnater, Palatine Landrichter in Sulzbach, incidentally also Hofmeister of the Count Palatine and then owner of Lichtenegg Castle, documented a judgment in the dispute between the Nuremberg patrician Hanns Tetzel and a Conrad Hartmann concerning the "perfried" [keep] with the fief (the Breitenthal farm) near Weigendorf. Tetzel was granted ownership rights over the tower castle, and Hartmann's claims were rejected, although Albrecht von Lichtenstein as a witness had questioned the Nuremberg's rights. Further news about the castle cannot be found in the Tetzel archive either; presumably, the complex was destroyed in the 15th century [cf. Lichtenegg, Lichtenstein]. This is also supported by the fact that the Nuremberg patrician Jakob Muffel – a relative of Hanns Tetzel – sold the farm in "Praittental" in 1442, over which Count Palatine Johann von Neumarkt-Neunburg claimed feudal lordship, to the Nuremberg family Deichsler. On this occasion, the keep is no longer mentioned.

The medieval monument has met a sad fate in our days: Of the still considerable remains of the historically significant keep, which were visible in the 1950s, only minor traces can now be observed. The imposing double ditch system was only filled with rubble and spoil in recent years.