Waldburg Castle

Waldburg Castle is the ancestral seat of the Truchsess and Imperial Princely House of Waldburg. It dates back to the 12th century and is located in the municipality of Waldburg in the Ravensburg district in Upper Swabia.

Waldburg Castle is situated on a natural elevation, a drumlin from the Würm Ice Age, at an altitude of 772m. Its elevated position with long-distance views (in suitable weather conditions) west to Hohentwiel near Singen, north to Ulm Minster, far into the Alpine foothills to the east, and far into the Swiss Alps to the south, made Waldburg Castle an important trigonometric survey point for land surveying in the early 19th century. The steep drumlin, with its very large slope angles, already offers almost ideal military protection for a castle complex, but also significantly complicated its construction and expansion over 7 centuries.

Until the 1980s, the hilltop castle was heavily forested. Through targeted clearing at the beginning of the 1990s for its reopening to the public in 1996, the view of the castle was restored to its old state. Both during the day and at night with illumination, the castle is a very prominent and important landmark in Upper Swabia.

The first foundation of the castle dates back to the 11th century. During this time, the Waldburg family received an official fief from the Welfs. In the first half of the 13th century, the castle was fundamentally rebuilt, and the palas was newly constructed up to the second floor.

Under Emperor Frederick II, the Imperial Regalia were kept in the castle from 1220 to at least 1240. The Holy Lance and the Imperial Orb are exhibited as replicas in the castle's rooms.

In 1327, St. Magnus Church was built. It houses in a niche of the sacristy the tomb of the blessed Habnit, who lived in the 16th century, was originally a village shepherd, and gained supra-regional fame as a healer of childhood diseases.

In the mid-16th century, under Truchsess Georg IV von Waldburg, the castle was expanded into a palace-like residential and administrative seat. From the 17th century onwards, the castle was only sporadically inhabited by the Waldburg family, and construction activity decreased.

Today, the castle houses a museum and is open for visits during the summer months. Many weddings take place at Waldburg Castle. For this purpose, parts of the museum and the vaults can be used. The castle chapel is still very often used for church weddings today.