Alt-Lichtenstein

Honau (The municipality of Lichtenstein), The county of Reutlingen

For a long time, the castle Alt-Lichtenstein was considered to be the home of the Lichtenstein family, which can be traced back to Gebhard of Lichtenstein, the first of his family to be mentioned in 1182. However, archaeological finds cast doubt and many historians as well as archeologists believe that the now famous rock castle Schloss Lichtenstein was the first castle to be built in the area. The term Alt-Lichtenstein, first mentioned in 1311 when Reutlingen’s troops attacked the two Lichtenstein castles as part of their confrontation in the Reichskrieg, seems to refer to a castle which must have been built around half a century later. It can be assumed that both castles got destroyed. Consecutively, at least one must have been rebuilt after 1311, because during the Städtekrieg in 1377 another Lichtenstein castle got destroyed. Nevertheless, it could also be the case that both castles, Alt-Lichtenstein and Schloss Lichtenstein were rebuilt and both got destroyed once more. However, this time, only one Lichtenstein got reconstructed. Alt-Lichtenstein was no longer used and over time fell into ruins. Its remains can be visited and are situated nearby the famous Schloss Lichtenstein.