Altes Schloss, Renaissance castle in Gaildorf, Germany

Altes Schloss is a four-winged castle complex sitting by the Kocher River with half-timbered walls on stone foundations, accented by corner towers and galleries. It now houses the Theresientaler Heimatstuben city museum and hosts regular art exhibitions organized by the IG Kunst group.

Count Albrecht von Limpurg-Gaildorf-Schmiedelfeld ordered its construction in 1479 as a replacement for an earlier water castle. A fortified structure had already stood on this location since 1399.

The great hall is named after Count Johann Wilhelm von Wurmbrand of Styria, who married Juliane Dorothea von Limpurg-Gaildorf there in 1700. Its oak coffered ceiling of the Renaissance is self-supporting and was fitted beneath an older, partly surviving stucco ceiling. Chamber music evenings are held in the hall today.

The four wings enclose an irregular inner courtyard; galleries and painted frames around windows and doors line it. Renovation work begun in the early 1970s continues, and in winter 2002 a whole infill panel of the west gate tower fell into the moat, so parts of the timber frame may be under repair. The Wurmbrandsaal on the upper floor is used for chamber music evenings.

The cellar vaults feature an exhibition called 'Hexen, Henker und Halunken' that documents the history of criminal justice in the Limpurg region. This collection reveals aspects of daily life and legal practice that are rarely shown elsewhere.