Lichtenstein Castle (Württemberg)

Lichtenstein Castle
Schloss Lichtenstein
The castle was built in 1842 in Gothic Revival style.
Lichtenstein Castle Location in Baden-Württemberg
Etymology	Lichtenstein Shining stone
General information
Status	Rebuilt
Type	Castle
Architectural style	Gothic revival Biedermeier
Classification	Fairy tale castle
Location	Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg
Town or city	Honau
Country	Germany
Coordinates	48°24′24″N 9°15′29″E / 48.40667°N 9.25806°E / 48.40667; 9.25806Coordinates: 48°24′24″N 9°15′29″E / 48.40667°N 9.25806°E / 48.40667; 9.25806
Elevation	817 metres (2,680 ft) (NN)
Current tenants	Duke Wilhelm Albert von Urach
Construction started	1840
Completed	1842
Inaugurated	1842
Renovated	1980, 1998–2002
Client	Duke Wilhelm of Urach
Owner	Dukes of Urach
Design and construction
Architect	Carl Alexander Heideloff
Website
www.schloss-lichtenstein.de/en/

Lichtenstein Castle (Schloss Lichtenstein) is a privately owned tourist attraction built in Gothic Revival style and located in the Swabian Jura of southern Germany. It was designed by Carl Alexander Heideloff and has been described as the "fairy tale castle of Württemberg." It overlooks the Echaz valley near Honau, Reutlingen in the state of Baden-Württemberg. The modern castle was inspired by the novel Lichtenstein (1826) by Wilhelm Hauff and was built in 1840-1842. The ruins of the medieval castle that inspired the novel are a few hundred meters away. The name Lichtenstein translates as "shining stone."

The castle is located on an escarpment that marks the northwestern edge of the Swabian Jura. It is in the Reutlingen district and has an altitude of 817 metres (2,680 feet). and about 250 metres (820 feet) above the Echaz river, a small tributary of the Neckar river. The ruins of Lichtenstein Castle's medieval predecessor, the Burg Alt-Lichtenstein, lies 500 metres (1,600 feet) away.

Beginning around 1100, a castle belonging to a family of ministerials of the counts of Achalm and later counts of Württemberg, was located on the escarpment above the source of the river Echaz. The castle and its denizens, the lords of Lichtenstein, were not friendly with the Free Imperial City of Reutlingen and were thus under frequent attack. The old castle was destroyed twice, once during the imperial civil war of 1311 and again by the citizens of Reutlingen sometime between 1377 and 1381. A new castle was built in 1390 some 500 metres (1,600 ft) from the ruins of the old one. The site selected was the same as that of the current structure. It was one of the most impressive fortifications of the Late Middle Ages. Despite such features as early casemates that made it nearly unassailable, the castle ceased to be the ducal seat in 1567 and fell into disrepair. During the Thirty Years' War (1618–48), it was taken over by the Tyrolean line of the Habsburgs following the death of the last member of the Lichtenstein family in 1687 during the Great Turkish War. The coat of arms of their family, a pair of golden angel wings on a blue background, is still displayed in the Great Hall of the castle.