Hochbiedeck

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

Hochbiedeck is said to have been a castle of the Greifenstein family. Researchers locate it on the Imenberg, which juts out north-east of Unterhausen. Its actual name and the noble family associated with it have not been officially documented. However, the local archivist Wilhelm Kinkelin identified it as the Hochbiedeck castle, which was first mentioned by the Swabian historian Martin Crusius in 1595 as a “Vicina arx, dicta Hochbidegga,” meaning a neighboring castle named Hochbiedeck which is said to have belonged to the Greifenstein family. At the beginning of the 20th century, striking ditches on the Imenberg got identified as the remains of the castle’s fortifications and not long after, sparse finds of medieval pottery suggested that the castle was built in the first half of the 13th century. However, the pottery was not of good quality, which in turn implied that it did not function as the residence of a noble family, but rather as an observation tower where a number of servants lived. Around 1311, the castle was destroyed as part of the Reichskrieg and was consequently no longer used.