Böchingen Castle

The castle of the Lords of Böchingen seems to have stood on the same site where the palace stands today (originally a moated castle with a moat). After the castle was destroyed for the first time in the Peasants' War in 1525 and again after reconstruction in the Thirty Years' War (the cellar vaults have been preserved to this day), the current palace building must have been built at the end of the 17th century. Two dates confirm this: in 1676, the notary Abraham Kolb from Neustadt took possession of the castle and village of Böchingen on behalf of the Elector, and in 1767, Elector Karl Theodor enfeoffed Baron von Reibold with the castle and village of Böchingen. After the withdrawal of the French revolutionary troops, Böchingen Castle and Estate passed into bourgeois ownership.

It is a simple Baroque complex with three stories and a hipped roof. An open staircase leads to the southern main entrance. This is segment-arched and framed by a four-column architecture. The building has been a listed monument since 1981.

After World War II, a winegrowers' cooperative was housed in the castle until 1961, when Haus König in Steinhagen became the owner of the castle and a sparkling wine cellar was established. The sparkling wine brand "Schloss Böchingen" is still on the market today, and the brand "Feist Belmont" should also be a household name. Since 1965, this brand has been produced in Böchingen. After several name changes, Schloss Böchingen today belongs as a production site of the Schloss Wachenheim sparkling wine cellar to the largest sparkling wine producer in the world.

Unfortunately, production was discontinued in 2008.