The three separate spur castles of Burg Eberbach

Ruins of Eberbach rise from a peripheral spur of the Katzenbuckel massif, suspended 160 metres above the Neckar. Rather than one home, this site cradles three separate spur castles: Vorderburg, Mittelburg, and Hinterburg. They are situated in a tight cluster, yet no structural links bind them. The spatial connection between the three individual castles within the complex remains unknown.

Construction stirred in the 12th century. Graf Konrad von Eberbach, a vassal of the Bishop of Worms, sought a seat for his land. His vision stalled at death. In 1227, King Heinrich VII bought the site from the Bishop. After 1216–1219, the Vorderburg and Mittelburg were separated by simpler construction, possibly due to legal succession rivalries. These held Imperial status until 1330, when the Pfalzgrafen claimed them.

Vorderburg, the oldest part of the complex, began in the first half of the 12th century. A fire destroyed the Vorderburg at some point after its initial construction, and it was rebuilt in the last third of the 12th century. This version boasted 1.70 metre thick masonry, a residential tower with Buckelquader stones, and a threshing floor. A 3.5 metre deep cistern caught rain nearby. A round-arched door opened to a stable, while a second, high-altitude round-arched entrance leads to a fortified tower apartment.

South of that, the Mittelburg sat across a moat. Its walls sheltered a Palas and a Bergfried. That keep stood atop an 11 metre square with 3 metre thick walls. The Hinterburg emerged later, during the second quarter of the 13th century. By 1403, lords permitted leveling. Decay reigned through the 15th century.

Today, scattered stones built town houses or field walls. Visitors find a non-commercial excursion through visible history. Excavations from the 20th century and 1960s reconstructions of the Hinterburg preserve the distinct outlines of these three separate forts.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons