Gemmingensches Castle

The Gemmingen Castle Widdern, also called Widdern Manor, is a castle in Widdern in the Heilbronn district. The building, erected in the 16th century, was initially owned by the Barons of Gemmingen, served as an inn from the 1860s, and is now used as a residential building.

The half-timbered building, dated 1574 above a cellar door, with a massive plinth and a round stair tower, originally belonged to the Gemmingen family, who, starting with Konrad von Gemmingen († 1463), owned shared inheritance shares in Widdern. The building was constructed as a manor house using ashlar stones from the Ganerbenburg, which was destroyed in 1458. In 1584, the neighboring Gemmingen Bailiff's House followed. The alley along the buildings was once called Schlossgasse (Castle Alley) and was only renamed Keltergasse (Press House Alley) in 1941. The Bürg-Presteneck line of the Barons of Gemmingen, to whom the property in Widdern belonged, died out in the male line in 1841, and their property fell to Sigmund von Gemmingen-Hornberg zu Treschklingen and his sons. The heirs soon sold the property in Widdern. First, they sold the Bailiff's House, which the municipality acquired in 1846 as a teacher's residence. In 1863, the brewer and innkeeper Hofmann acquired the castle for 5500 guilders, and in 1864, he established a restaurant there, which soon bore the name "Zum grünen Baum" (To the Green Tree). In 1888, the Alfeld family acquired the building. A brewery was operated in the house until 1903. In 1930, the inn was equipped with guest rooms and a distillery, as well as a bowling alley in the garden that was well-frequented on weekends. The building served as an inn until 1991, most recently under the name Schloßgasthof (Castle Inn). It has since been extensively renovated and is used for residential purposes.