Straubenhardt Castle

The Straubenhardt ruin, also called Strubenhardt, is a former castle about 15 kilometers south of Pforzheim near Dennach, a sub-municipality of Neuenbürg, in the Enz district in Baden-Württemberg.

The Lords of Straubenhardt were mentioned in 1090 in documents of Hirsau Monastery and in the foundation charter of Herrenalb Monastery in 1148. The family presumably originated from the Kraichgau. The castle was probably built in the 11th century from Gräfenhausen, today a district of Birkenfeld. It was later expanded and, as a Ganerbenburg (jointly owned castle), was the common property of the Lords of Straubenhardt and the Lords of Schmalenstein, who were related to them by marriage.

In 1367, Count Eberhard II of Württemberg narrowly escaped an attack by the knightly league of the Martinsvögel, led by Count Wolf von Eberstein and to which the Lords of Schmalenstein also belonged, in nearby Wildbad (Teinach or Wildbad). As a result of the attack, Eberhard had the castle destroyed in 1384.

Even today, scattered masonry and a striking topography indicate the former castle.

On December 1, 1973, the newly founded municipality of Straubenhardt, consisting of the former communities of Conweiler, Feldrennach, Langenalb, Ottenhausen, and Schwann, was named after the former castle and noble family.