History
The name of the castle appears to come from the name of the castle founder Heinrich von Kalden also known as Bappenheim or Pappenheim, who was the Reichshofmarschall or Marshal of the Empire under Emperor Frederick II. The castle was built some time between 1150 and 1180.
Under the Hohenstaufen kings the rulers of Kaltenburg swore fealty only to the Emperor, an unusual privilege for a German noble. In 1240 Dietmar is mentioned in connection with the castle. While in 1265 Otto von Kaltenburg is mentioned as the ruler. By 1332 the castle is owned by Graf or Count von Helfenstein. The count's landvogt or administrator was Heinz Vetzer who lived in the tower.
In 1357 the castle was held by the von Riedheim family. They had received the castle either as a loan from the Duchy of Bavaria or they were serving as a landvogt or administrator for the Imperial City of Ulm. During the 15th century several nobles occupied the castle including the von Grafeneck and Stadion families.
The castle was besieged and severely damaged in 1435 by troops from Nürnberg. A second destruction occurred in 1632–34 during the Thirty Years' War. It was rebuilt in 1677 by the von Riedheim family.
However, in 1764 the south west wall collapsed. The towers were dismantled and transported to Reuendorf to build a storage building.
After portions of the castle collapsed the castle church was destroyed in 1804. Two years later portions of the inner castle were dismantled, with more portions collapsing in 1806. When the castle was taken over by the Graf von Maldeghem in 1820, five families lived in the castle. After 1837 30 inhabitants were mentioned to still live in the castle. After 1897 it appears that only the gatehouse was still intact and occupied.
The first attempts to conserve the ruins happened in 1938 and 1940. This process continued in 1980 and 1983. During this period, the two square towers were cleaned and rebuilt.
Read more about this topic: Kaltenburg Castle
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