Hohenbodman Castle

The Hohenbodman ruin is a castle ruin on a hill at 658 meters above sea level above the Salem Aach north of Überlingen in the Hohenbodman district of the municipality of Owingen in the Bodensee district in Baden-Württemberg.

The hilltop castle was built at the end of the 11th century by the Lords of Bodman, mentioned in the 13th century, and was later a pledge object of the Prince-Bishopric of Constance. The castle was renovated between 1479 and 1481 and in 1507 became the property of the Vogt of the Imperial City of Überlingen. During the Thirty Years' War, it was captured and burned down by Konrad Widerholt in 1642. Only the tower escaped destruction.

Until 1971, the 37-meter-high tower of the former castle complex remained in the possession of the city of Überlingen, before it was handed over to the municipality of Owingen for a symbolic 661 Deutsche Mark. The tower, which has an outer circumference of 28 meters and an inner diameter of just over 2.5 meters, underwent extensive and costly securing and renovation work by the municipality in 1976 and between 1996 and 1999. The tile roofing was subsequently installed on the listed tower. For several years now, this has been in need of renewal and endangers the underlying timberwork.

Today, the observation tower serves the municipality as a landmark and showpiece, as well as a defining landmark. It offers a panoramic view over the Salem Valley, Lake Constance, and, in good visibility, a magnificent Alpine panorama.