Ortenberg Castle

Following the construction by the House of Zähringen in the 11th/12th century, the castle served as the administrative center for the Landvögte (bailiffs) of the district of Ortenau during the reign of the Hohenstaufen.

The first extensions to the castle, fortified towers (roundels) that contained cannons, were built in the 15th century.

The administrative center of the Landvögte was moved to Offenburg by Franz de Neveu due to this incident.

Baron Gabriel Leonhard von Berckholtz (1781–1863) from Livland had Friedrich Eisenlohr, a German architect, re-construct the castle in Gothic style.

Georg Jakob Schneider, a student of Eisenlohr, was designated construction site manager.

During the re-construction of the castle from 1838 to 1843, another tower was added to the existing two stories of the zwinger construction.

The dungeon was used between 1679 and 1697, the years after the destruction of the castle, until the imperial bailiwick prison was built in 1770.