The castle Steinsberg is the partially restored ruin of a medieval hilltop castle in the village Weiler.
It is located on the 333m high Steinsberg, a former volcano. Because it is widely visible, it has been called the "compass of the Kraichgau" since the time of the Peasants' War.
The Steinsberg is first mentioned in 1109. The Werinharde von Steinsberg are considered to be the builders of the first castle, but there are no ideas about their appearance.
Unique is the central, 30m high keep, built from about 1220 Keupersandstein. He is in the floor plan 8eckig. The original entrance to the tower was 11.80 meters high and could only be reached via a jetty and a drawbridge. Shortly before 1800, the tower was made accessible via a ground-level access, after there was no footbridge. On the walls of the tower numerous medieval stonemasons are preserved. The keep can now be climbed via an internal staircase as a lookout tower and offers a good panoramic view of the Kraichgau.
Around the keep there is an irregular polygonal ring wall. The tower and ring wall are executed in regular humpback quasern masonry. The loopholes are bordered by humpback cuboids. In the style of a Randhausburg, the residential and farm buildings of the castle lean against the insides of the ring wall. The dilapidated buildings are now restored in a simplified form and usually reduced to one storey. The original palace was rebuilt into a workshop in the 16th century, probably during reconstruction after the destruction of 1525. The building, now known as the Palas, was built in the 16th century. Due to the major alterations and the centuries-long decay, the rooms of the buildings can no longer be clearly assigned.
Around the core castle lay spirally 2- to 3-fold kennel walls. To the main gate of the plant 3 Vortore are to happen, the middle of which was built under Count Palatine Otto I. 1436 and still has a 2-storey defense tower with battlement. The third gate shows an envious man who is supposed to keep evil spirits out of the castle.
The castle has been owned by the city of Sinsheim since 1973, which invests a lot of money in the restoration of the castle complex. From the core castle, the ring wall and the keep are largely preserved and renovated.
Today, a restaurant is located in the modern farm buildings within the Kernburg.
Source: Wikipedia
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burg_Steinsberg