Hohenneuffen Castle, Neuffen, Germany

An unforgettable dinner at Hohenneuffen Castle

Where is it?

Hohenneuffen Castle is situated on the top of a hill, above the town of Neuffen in the Esslingen area of Baden-Württemberg. From Stuttgart it is about 50 km in about 45 minutes by car via A8, B465. From the parking lot it's another 600 m on foot through the forest on easy uphill. I have also seen a few tourists going up to the castle. The road from the parking lot up to the castle is unpaved, forest type, through the forest are arranged as in many places in Western Europe, and trails for cyclists.

About Hohenneuffen Castle

Hohenneuffen is the largest fortress ruin in southern Germany and is considered one of the most beautiful. Confirmed for the beauty of the fortress and the panoramic landscape from the top of the Delda. It is built at a height of 743 meters and over 300 meters above the city on a white limestone cliff. The name Neuffen has Celtic origins and was later taken over by the Germans.

In the 8th century, Duke Karl Alexander wanted to build a fortress here, but he died before the construction was completed, and it became a fire lookout and prison.

In the 12th century, Manegold von Sumetingen from the family of Bishop Ulrich von Augsburg completed the erection of the fortress.

In the 16th century, Princes Ulrich VI and Christoph gave a new face to the fortress by bringing the Renaissance style to the fortress instead of the original medieval imprint. The fortress towers were replaced by round bastions; Wachstubenturm, Schwarzer Turm, Neuffener Turm. Access to the fortress was via a wooden bridge with 8 stone pillars.

In the 18th century it was decided to stop investing in the preservation of the fortress and even to destroy it. Thus the inhabitants of the area enjoyed cheap building materials. Access to the fortress was opened in the 19th century, and in 1862 a restaurant opened here.

During the Second World War, Hohenneuffen was a guard for the air force.

On August 2, 1948, the prime ministers of Südbaden, Württemberg-Hohenzollern and Württemberg-Baden met at the fortress to seal the union of the three Länder, which was the foundation for the formation of Baden-Württemberg 4 years later (1952).

1. Let's enter the citadel!

We walk from the parking lot to the fortress through the woods. On a warm day, the coolness of the forest, but soon the evening was pleasant. The fortress is right at the top of the hill.

The fortress walls are high and thick. Impressive. We pass through a vaulted tunnel on a road paved with cubic stone to the lookout point. Here there is a superb panorama of the area, both during the day and in the dark at night. We are right next to the Schwarzer Turm, the Black Tower. From here we enter the fortress courtyard to the restaurant.

Schwarzer Turm

Hohenneuffen Castle

Burg Hohenneuffen

2. Come for lunch and a show!

The watchword in the citadel restaurant is hospitality. The hosts have thought to dress the organized moments in a specific local clothing, which fits in with the age of the fortress, offering organized groups unforgettable moments from Wednesday to Saturday.

Serving a meal at the Hohenneuffen Fortress is done preserving many of the medieval customs. Start an unforgettable evening!

In the courtyard of the restaurant we are entertained by a man dressed as in the Middle Ages, with a lot of humor and musical talent.

Servants and maids also wear medieval clothes. Our friendly host reminds us that every meal begins with hand washingThis is presented as a real ritual in which the servant stands at the service of the messengers to help them wash themselves in a bowl and then wipe their hands. At this point I volunteered to exemplify the ritual. The hand washing continues with the ritual of laying the beard labeled. All mesenians are provided with a barbeque and are invited to put the barbeque on each other after the de rigueur ritual, where I volunteered again.

Once seated at the table, the locals will admire both the way the table is decorated but especially ground beef horns (cow) placed in special holders that will replace the classic glasses for wine drinkers. Wine is the welcome drink.

They read the table obiecici and practise wishing "good luck" in the ancient language, a kind of "Alle Halle! "", or so it sounds!

After a few "Alle Halle! "" he gets ready the taboo of serving soup. Another volunteer along with our talented host demonstrates how to serve soup. Simple. Served in a clay pot, it is poured into the mouth and drunk in a sip. No spoon, no other accessories, no cutlery. If you pass by, you've got the barbeque tied around your neck anyway.

During the meal our talented servant play different musical instruments: bagpipes, flute, an instrument with special strings and some I don't know what they are called.

bagpipe artist

pint of beer

the talented servant

3. Restaurant and panorama

The restaurant has a total capacity of 400 seats in several rooms, but also outside or on the terrace with panoramic view. We were invited in the Baden Württemberg room with a capacity of about 30 people.

The room is tastefully decorated, including several large oil paintings on the walls. An exhibition of beer mugs with lids is next to the bar.

The restaurant offers only natural products from surrounding towns from established suppliers. I savored in addition to the hearty (but tasty) soup and a delicious portion of medium rare beef with grilled vegetables. For dessert, a tasty ice-cream was the end of the dinner to which we toasted several times ""Alle Halle! " (sorry if I got it wrong). Enjoy!