Ödenburg

Oberstetten (The municipality of Hohenstein), The county of Reutlingen

The castle was built between 1050 and 1100. At the end of the 11th century, Ernst of Hohenstein and his brother Adelbert of Oberstetten were first mentioned in the so-called Zwiefalten Chronicle. Ödenburg was either built by the Oberstetten family and was called Oberstetten or Hohenstein castle since the brothers carried these names. The current Hohenstein castle, which is located about 1.2 kilometers further north, could then be described as the Ödenburg’s successor building.   Between 1200 and 1250 the castle was given up after having been destroyed, but was entirely abandoned from 1460 onwards.  This is why the castle was subsequently referred to as “Ödenburg,” meaning deserted. In 1891, a new water tank was built at its former location, which caused the walls to be uncovered. Some of which now serve, according to the writings of the Schwäbische Albverein, as the solid outer wall of the water tank. The basin was partly placed into the former castle’s courtyard.