Altdischingen Castle, Medieval castle ruins in Weilimdorf, Stuttgart, Germany.
Altdischingen Castle is a former hilltop castle in the Solitude state forest range of Weilimdorf, Stuttgart. Its plateau measures about 25 by 40 metres, bounded by a ravine to the south and a 2.5 to 3 metre deep ditch to the north and east. In front of that main ditch, an additional wall with its own one-metre-deep ditch lies to the north and east. No wall remains are visible above ground.
The castle was built in the 11th century, largely or entirely of wood, and was destroyed by a fire in the second third of the 12th century. It was then abandoned and never rebuilt; whether fighting preceded the destruction could not be determined. No charters or written records about the castle survive. The site was rediscovered during the Württemberg state survey in the 1830s and excavated archaeologically from 1952 to 1954. Dischingen Castle, about 400 metres north, is regarded as its successor.
The name Altdischingen, 'Old Dischingen', sets it apart from Dischingen Castle about 400 metres to the north, which is regarded as its successor. No charters or written records about the castle survive, so knowledge of the site comes from the 1952 to 1954 excavations, which established a wooden 11th-century building burnt in the second third of the 12th century.
The site lies amid forests and is reachable on foot, though it requires climbing the hill terrain. Visitors should wear appropriate footwear and expect minimal remains with little infrastructure at the location.
The site was forgotten until Württemberg's land survey of the 1830s rediscovered it; excavations between 1952 and 1954 showed the 11th-century castle was built wholly or mostly of wood and burned in the second third of the 12th century. No above-ground masonry survives, only the ramparts and ditches.
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