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Harburg and the Harburg Castle
The town of Harburg may be small and unassuming, but there is nothing small or unimpressive about its castle! The Harburg Castle is one of the largest, best-preserved medieval castles in all of Germany.
Harburg is a picturesque town of about 6000 inhabitants and sits on the Wörnitz River. The town is often called Harburg an der Wörnitz to differentiate it from the suburb of Hamburg with the same name. Harburg is located along the Romantic Road, approximately 8 miles southeast of Nördlingen.
In Harburg, a beautiful-restored Old Stone Bridge crosses the Wörnitz river. Some of the sights you will pass on your stroll through town are the Bruck Mill, originated in 1518 and rebuilt in 1762; St. Barbara Church - first built in 1612 and located on the hill leading to the castle; the marketplace, flanked by several impressive homes from the 1600s and 1800s; and the Schwarzkopf house on Nördlingen street.
Though the town of Harburg may be modest, its castle is one of the jewels of the Romantic Road. The Harburg Castle sits high on a hill and overlooks the town. It is unclear when the first structure was erected, but the castle is mentioned in documents as early as 1150. Because of its strategic location, it provided a military stronghold during the reign of the Staufer-Kings from 1079 to 1272. Since 1731, the castle has belonged to the Oettingen-Wallerstein family.
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The castle complex, including the castle house, chapel, and various buildings used to support the inhabitants, is surrounded by a wall supporting six towers. In the center of the complex is a large courtyard with a well.
Tours of the castle are given at regular intervals and many portions of the castle complex are open to the public. The Harburg castle has its own website. Click the English option and then click Opening Hours. If you want to see the rest of the website in English, type "burg-harburg.de" into Google and take the translate option.
A great way to find out more information about the Harburg Castle is to visit the official website of the village of Harburg. Type "stadt-harburg-schwaben.de/" into Google and take the translate option. (The site is almost impossible to find by searching the Internet:) If you click on the Harburg Castle link, you will see a diagram of the castle and many pictures. In addition, tour information and the Harburg Castle phone number are both located on page D (Führungen) of the Harburg Castle section. Be sure to check before you go as they are not open year-round, and are usually closed on Mondays.
The Harburg website also has some information and pictures of the town. One interesting area of the website is under History. The site has a great timeline history of the entire Ries area of southern Germany, beginning millions of years ago, and ending with a short history of the town of Harburg. Included is a short history of the Jewish community that prevailed in the 18th and 19th centuries in Harburg.