Ellwangen Castle

Schloss ob Ellwangen is the baroque former residence and seat of power of the Prince-Provosts of the Prince-Provostry of Ellwangen. The extensive complex is located at approximately 505 m above sea level on a hill above the city center of Ellwangen in eastern Württemberg, amidst orchards. Together with the Schönenbergkirche, the "Schloss" forms a widely visible landmark of Ellwangen.

The castle complex dates back to a medieval castle built around the year 1200 by Abbot Kuno I (1188-1221). The "castrum Ellwangen" was first mentioned in a document in 1266. From 1460, the building served as a residence and dwelling, characterized by the secular court life of the Provosts, who had risen to Imperial Princes. Prince-Provost Johann Christoph von Westerstetten had the complex redesigned as a Renaissance castle between 1603 and 1608. The arcaded inner courtyard and the four corner towers date from this period.

In 1720, a devastating fire occurred. Prince-Provost Franz Ludwig von der Pfalz (1664–1732), Archbishop of Trier, as well as Bishop of Trier and Worms and Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, commissioned the Teutonic Order master builders Franz Keller and Franz Josef Roth to rebuild the castle in the Baroque style. This resulted in the staircase completed in 1726 with a double-flight staircase, the uniform mansard roof of the main buildings, and the magnificent throne room.

From 1802/1803, Elector Friedrich, in the course of secularization, made the representative building his residence. Friedrich I, who had risen to King of Württemberg, had a throne room furnished, and between 1803 and 1806, the government of New Württemberg even met in the castle building. In 1815 and 1816, further alterations were made to the premises. The exiled Westphalian King Jérôme Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, and his wife Katharina, the Württemberg king's daughter, had several rooms in the castle furnished as a residence and had the windows and galleries glazed.

Finally, from 1842, a definitive change in the use of the buildings took place: an agricultural school and several state authorities moved in.

In 2012, a Stauferstele was inaugurated on a meadow in front of the castle, commemorating Abbot Kuno I of Ellwangen, who was an important advisor to the Staufer dynasty and prepared the imperial coronation of Frederick II in Rome.