Bettenreute Castle is a former motte-and-bailey castle converted into a palace in the 15th and 16th centuries. (Source: Wikipedia)
In 1171, a Heinrich von Bettenreute was first mentioned in a document. Nothing further is known from this period. Several changes of ownership are known from the 13th century. In 1319, the complex first passed into the possession of the Humpis family and later to the Besserer family, both members of the wealthy Ravensburg city patriciate and sought to underline their aristocratic status by acquiring suitable properties.
After Bettenreute fell to the Kingdom of Württemberg in the 19th century and initially became the seat of the Forestry Office, the complex has been used by the judicial administration since 1926. Today, it is an agricultural branch of the Ravensburg Correctional Facility.
The castle and some of the farm buildings were once surrounded by a double moat, remnants of which can still be seen today. The water for the ditches came from the nearby Feuertobelbach stream.