Burg Staufenberg, Medieval castle in Durbach, Germany
Burg Staufenberg is a medieval castle perched on a rocky hilltop above the vineyards near Durbach, in the Ortenau region of Baden-Württemberg. The site is made up of old stone structures on several levels, including towers, walls, and vaulted cellars.
The builders were likely the lords of Staufenberg, mentioned between 1132 and 1188 in the Reichenbach priory's donation book, or the Zähringen dukes' ministeriales recorded from 1148; no 11th- or 12th-century masonry survives above ground. After 1218 several noble families held it, and it was damaged in the Thirty Years' War and plundered by French marauders in 1689. In 1693 Margrave Ludwig Wilhelm of Baden-Baden bought it, and from 1832 the margraves rebuilt it as a Romantic-style Schloss.
The castle has a wine tavern where visitors can taste wines made from grapes grown on the surrounding slopes. The old stone vaults are used as working cellars, not as a museum exhibit, which gives the place a lived-in feel.
The castle is reached on foot along a forest path that climbs from the village of Durbach. The terrain on the rocky site is uneven, so sturdy shoes are a good idea before you set out.
Since June 2026 the estate has belonged to Georg Prinz zur Lippe, a Saxon winemaker from the Lippe-Weißenfeld branch, after the House of Baden sold it. The castle stands 10 metres above a neck ditch that now serves as the car park, so you park in the old fortification line before walking up.
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