Schloss Bartelstein

Scheer, Germany, Germany

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Schloss Bartelstein, also known as Burg Bartelstein, is a small castle‑like structure on a steep calcareous rock above the left bank of the Danube near the town of Scheer in the Sigmaringen district of Baden‑Württemberg, Germany.

The site first held a high‑medieval castle in the 11th–12th centuries, later rebuilt in the late 16th century and reportedly destroyed again during the Thirty Years’ War, after which the present low‑scale manor‑house form was erected on the old foundations.

In the 18th and 19th centuries the building served as a prison and then passed into private hands, and in 1906 it was thoroughly renovated into a Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) villa with three irregular wings around a small courtyard, tall gables, and a round tower.

Today Schloss Bartelstein remains a privately owned heritage building, not regularly open to visitors and in need of further restoration, though its picturesque silhouette above the river is clearly visible from the Donau valley and nearby trails.