Brenz Castle

Geschichte

Brenz Castle is Renaissance castle located in the Brenz an der Brenz borough of Sontheim in Heidenheim district of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. The current castle was built in 1672 and rests on the remains of an earlier castle destroyed during the Thirty Years' War. Within the castle is a small Community Heritage Museum that is open on Sundays, Holidays or by appointment and hosts several concerts throughout the year.HistoryDuring the High Middle Ages ownership of Brenz an der Brenz rested with a minor noble family who took their name from the location. Members of this family are mentioned several times in the records from this time. In the Galluskirche there is a gravestone from 1190 for Sebolt von Brenz who is listed as a Crusader. After 1250 a side line of the noble family von Güssenberg (known as Güssen) occupied Schloss Brenz. To pay debts, the family quickly fell into highway robbery and the castle was destroyed under orders of Louis IV in 1340. However the castle was partly repaired soon afterward.In 1546, during the Schmalkaldic War Charles V. stayed at the Schloss Brenz as a guest of the Güssen.The Güssen family became too poor to support the castle, and in 1613 sold the entire village and castle to the Duchy of Württemberg. In 1617 Duke Julius Friedrich von Württemberg took the villages of Brenz and Weiltingen under his control, founding the junior Württemberg line of Württemberg-Weiltingen. Schloss Brenz was used as a temporary home for his family. However, the damaged castle was destroyed in 1634 during the Battle of Nördlingen of the Thirty Years' War. In 1672 Duke Friedrich Ferdinand had the castle rebuilt in a Renaissance style. The foundation of the old castle and some portions of the walls are still visible, but most of the castle was built new.