Alt-Trauchburg Castle, Medieval castle in Weitnau, Germany

Alt-Trauchburg is a medieval castle in Bavaria perched on a mountain spur at around 900 meters elevation. The remaining structures include stone walls and towers from different building phases, including a tower house and reinforced outer areas.

A fortress of the counts of Veringen and Nellenburg is first recorded in 1041, probably nearby rather than on this spur. Around 1150 the lords of Rettenberg were enfeoffed and called themselves von Trauchburg; in the early 13th century Berthold von Trauchburg moved the castle to its present site. The fief passed to the Truchsessen von Waldburg by 1258, and they bought it in 1306.

The castle layout reveals how medieval nobility lived in this mountain location and used the space to control surrounding territories. Walking through the remains, you can see how rooms connected and what purposes different areas served.

The wooden bridge over the neck ditch was removed due to dilapidation, so the inner courtyard is now reached by a metal staircase at the side. The outer bailey has been heavily altered in modern times, and the ground remains uneven. The western part of the outer bailey serves as a beer garden.

The 1985 renovation, coordinated from 1991 with the Bavarian State Department for Heritage Conservation and Joachim Zeune's castle research office, is often criticised as too rustic. Modern fixtures let visitors climb the walls, unlike Zeune's preservation-only approach at Hohenfreyberg Castle. The wooden bridge built over the neck ditch was later removed as unsafe.