Hohentrüdingen Castle (Ruin)

Hohentrüdingen Castle is a castle ruin on a hill above the district of Hohentrüdingen in the market town of Heidenheim in the Central Franconian district of Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen in Bavaria.

Hohentrüdingen Castle was considered the largest high medieval fortification between the middle Wörnitz and Altmühl rivers.

The hilltop castle was built at the end of the 11th century by the Imperial Counts of Truhendingen and first mentioned in 1129 in an Eichstätt document. After the Truhendingers had received the land for their castle as a fief from the Bishop of the Prince-Bishopric of Eichstätt, they also received the Vogtship over the possessions of Heidenheim Monastery in the middle of the 12th century.

Further owners mentioned are the Counts of Schaumberg around 1340, Albrecht von Wartenberg in 1359, and Count Ludwig von Oettingen in 1363. After the Truhendingers became increasingly indebted in the 14th century, and later died out in 1424, the castle passed to the Burgraves of Nuremberg in 1404.

In 1716, the upper part of the tower was demolished, and already in 1732, the castle was described as a "very old building" and contained only the residence of the chief administrator. In 1812, the castle was demolished except for the keep, which served as a church tower from 1819.

The once very large castle complex featured the still-preserved rectangular 27-meter-high keep made of ashlar masonry with an entrance at a height of 9 meters and a wall thickness of 4 meters at the bottom and 2.5 meters at the top. Furthermore, the castle had a western outwork, a first 180-meter-long outer bailey to the east, and a second trapezoidal outer bailey of about 300 by 200 meters, as well as ramparts.

The freely accessible keep offers a very beautiful view of the Hesselberg and into the Ries.