Schloss Hersberg, Medieval castle in Immenstaad am Bodensee, Germany.
Schloss Hersberg is a castle on a hilltop in Immenstaad am Bodensee, surrounded by vineyards and offering views toward Lake Constance and the Alps. The building features stepped gables and watchtowers, along with guest rooms and conference spaces used for different purposes today.
The castle was first mentioned in 1276 and belonged to Ochsenhausen Abbey from 1621 until 1803. After secularization, Franz Georg Karl von Metternich took ownership, changing the site's importance and direction.
The name Hersberg probably comes from the Old High German root hari/heri, meaning a ridge. Since 1994 the Pallottines have run the house as a spiritual centre, and the former St. Josef seminary, open from 1930 to 1992, trained late vocations. In 1847 the poet Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, a friend of the owner's wife, stayed as a guest.
The castle sits on a hilltop with direct access to surrounding vineyards and toward the lake. Visitors should expect slightly hilly terrain, and sturdy shoes can be helpful when walking around.
In April 1945, high-ranking Allied officers, German officers linked to the 20 July 1944 plot against Hitler, and relatives held under Sippenhaft during Aktion Gitter were locked in the house chapel under threat of death, then hidden from the SS and saved. After the war the building housed 200 internees and served as a French barracks until 1947.
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