only approach to the castle runs through the gateway in the 'new' pfleger house. A passageway, which has several embrasures and smoke exhaust holes facing south, runs on the right hand side on the level to the stables. The building to the south with the hip roof was last remodelled in 1712 as the date over the entrance indicates. The hall was also used to stable coaches and is appropriately decorated with a cross vaulted ceiling and surrounding ornamentation. The beginning of the ascent to the castle which is in the same direction, leads up to a terrace at the top of the first flight of steps. From here there is a descent to a rather, lower terrace with the zwinger, whilst the route to the castle continues to the left up a further flight of steps. The hilltop castle may only be accessed via a hexagonal staircase tower, which was built in 1595. A spiral staircase with 35 steps opens onto a wooden footbridge to the castle at the point where, until about 1800, there was a drawbridge. The present fixed wooden bridge was built following a survey in 1807, in order to enable the villagers to get to the cistern in the cellar of the south wing. The three-winged castle has an open north side, the gable ends of the east and west wings flanking a courtyard. The south wing, together with the other two wings, forms an continuous outer wall. Up to what height the Hohenstaufen foundation walls have survived has not so far been investigated. The cross vaulting of the old castle chapel in the south wing and level with the courtyard, indicates that this part of the castle was extended in the 15th century. The vaulting covers the passageway from the staircase tower into the courtyard and the present chapel, reduced in size by an internal dividing wall. A 1553 survey report mentions three cabinets in the castle. The present appearance of the east and west wings with their typical half-hipped roofs dates to around 1595. Since then their interiors have been altered several times, for example, in 1728 the floral paintings of the hall in the east wing were executed. In the courtyard, which opens to the north, are the foundations of the octagonal bergfried with a diameter of roughly 9.30 metres. This partially collapsed in 1611 when it was hit by lightning and