Staufeneck Castle

Staufeneck Castle is a castle ruin in the municipality of Salach in the Göppingen district of Baden-Württemberg. The ruin of the hilltop castle stands above the municipality of Salach in the Filstal valley on the southwestern spur of the Rehgebirge mountains. Opposite, on the southeastern spur, lies Ramsberg Castle.

The year the castle was founded is still unclear: depending on the source, the year 1080 or 1240 is mentioned.

Staufeneck was built by the Lords of Staufeneck, who were probably relatives of the Staufer dynasty, as they also bore a lion in their coat of arms. They owned the complex until it was taken over by the Lords of Rechberg zu Staufeneck in 1333, until their lineage died out in 1599 with the death of the 9-year-old Albrecht Hermann. After that, the castle changed hands several times, either through purchase or marriage.

From 1800, the castle increasingly fell into disrepair. Anselm Schott was born in 1843 in an outbuilding, in the building now called "Anselm-Schott-Haus". From 1844, the castle was uninhabited and large parts had to be demolished.

It was not until 1926 that the 27-meter-high keep was made accessible again. In 1927, Hildegard Wörner began operating a restaurant in the western part of the castle ruin. Her daughter Lore and her husband Erich Straubinger took over the restaurant in 1973 and developed the business into an upscale restaurant with a banquet hall.

In 1990, they acquired the restaurant and the castle ruin from the city of Böblingen, and their son Rolf Straubinger joined as head chef. Under the direction of son-in-law Klaus Schurr, a hotel was built starting in 2000, which opened in December 2002. Just one year later, it was rated 5 stars by DEHOGA. In 2012, the restaurant was modernized.

The castle complex is now a ruin that houses the Staufeneck Castle Restaurant with its associated hotel.