Helfenberg castle ruins

The residential tower and remnants of the once mighty shield wall have been preserved above the hamlet of Helfenberg. From the castle hill, there is a beautiful view over the Schozach Valley, the Neckar Valley, and Wildeck Castle opposite.

Helfenberg Castle, built in the Staufer period, was once a large residential castle with a residential tower and shield wall. The elaborately designed residential tower with three floors leaned against the shield wall. Other knightly families keep cropping up as owners. In 1259, the name Albertus de Helfenberg is mentioned in a document from the Lichtenthal monastery.
In 1579, Philipp von Wittstadt rebuilt and expanded Helfenberg Castle. He tried several times to have the castle transferred to his daughter or her son-in-law, Hans von Buchholz, but the Württemberg fiefdom refused permission. This was the reason why Hans von Buchholz had his own castle built down in the hamlet of Finkenbach.
The name Finkenbach probably changed to Helfenberg (Unterhelfenberg) in the process. With Unterhelfenberg and Oberhelfenberg, there were thus two knightly estates in 1625. Since the 18th century, the entire Helfenberg estate was in the hands of the von Gaisberg family.

The castle ruins are freely accessible. It is worth taking a lap around the mountain - you have beautiful views towards the Stromberg-Heuchelberg area, towards Stuttgart (TV tower) and the Black Forest, as well as towards Wildeck Castle and Löwensteiner Berge.