Burg Seldeneck

Burg Seldeneck stands in the municipality of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany, and was built by a medieval German noble family under the overlordship of the Bohemian king.

The castle enters written records in the mid-13th century; its connection with Henricus von Rothenburg begins in that period, so the site is unlikely to be much older than those references. The foundation is attributed to the father of Götz (Gottfried) von Hohenlohe, who held the place as a fief from King John of Bohemia. Gottfried placed a branch of the Nordenberg family, who later took the name Seldeneck, in service as castle retainers, granted them portions of the stronghold, and sold additional shares to Conrad and Arnold von Seinsheim. He also transferred a share to his brother Kraft II, turning the site into a joint-inheritors castle where multiple families held rights.

During the 14th century the castle formed part of the administrative area associated with the Oberamt Mergentheim, and ancillary installations such as the castle mill called Adelgersmühle are recorded in 1341. On 24 July 1344 Conrad von Seinsheim conveyed his rights in Seldeneck to the Burgraves of Nuremberg; Luppold von Seldeneck sold his interest that same day but remained as the burgrave’s castellan. The sale by Conrad followed his being placed under an imperial ban earlier that year, a factor in his need to settle debts. Persons documented at the castle across the century include Kraft II, Luppold von Seldeneck, a Kraft of Gattenhofen in 1347, and in 1368 Ullrich Mörder and Eberwein von Seldeneck. In 1379 Friedrich V pledged the castle together with the lordships of Bernheim (probably Burgbernheim) and Bergel.

Ownership passed from Frederick I, Burgrave of Nuremberg, to the Imperial City of Rothenburg ob der Tauber on 29 July 1404. In 1407 Rothenburg entered the Marbacher alliance against King Rupert and was placed under imperial ban; many regional fortifications were destroyed in the measures that followed, and Seldeneck appears to have been damaged or destroyed in that period. Despite this, Rothenburg’s records still note officials associated with the castle in 1418. Cunz von Kirchberg is documented as castellan in 1393, and his successor Adam von Kirchberg formally renounced his claim in 1414, by which time the castle had already been ruined. The surviving ruins were cleaned and conserved in 1985.