Weiterdingen: Hohenstoffeln, the Castle and Church History

Weiterdingen lies at the eastern foot of the Hohenstoffeln massif, partly in a hollow and partly on a gentle slope. The village’s defining features include historic buildings and the hike up Hohenstoffeln. If you’re looking for a holiday apartment for your trip, you can decide whether to focus on architectural history or a day of hiking.

Church and Castle in Weiterdingen

The Catholic Church of St. Mauritius is one of the fortified churches and has a Late Gothic tower. The tower is square, has a saddle roof and features Late Gothic sound openings dating from 1485. The church also contains a family crypt belonging to the Hornstein family and numerous gravestones. In 1885, St. Mauritius was remodelled in the Neo-Gothic style. The tower and the remodelling represent two distinct phases of construction.

Next to the church stands Weiterdingen Castle, built in 1683 by Baron Balthasar Ferdinand von Hornstein zu den drei Hohenstoffeln und Grüningen. The building has four storeys and nine bays, and a saddle roof. A three-bay central avant-corps divides the façade on each long side; the floor plan is cruciform. A central avant-corps is a projecting section of a façade, positioned in the middle. Today, the castle is used for events. Its dimensions and floor plan give the castle architecture a clearly describable form.

The Holy Sepulchre Chapel and its history

The Baroque Holy Sepulchre Chapel lies between Hilzingen and Weiterdingen, near Kapellenhof on the old Roman road. It was endowed in 1694 by Baron Karl Balthasar von Hornstein (1649–1723). It is a faithful replica of the Holy Sepulchre in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Alongside the buildings in the village, it represents another chapter in religious architectural history, with a model explicitly linked to Jerusalem.

South of Weiterdingen, near the Mark parcel and the Holy Sepulchre Chapel, lies a deep calcareous fen. This is a different aspect of the landscape from the terrain around Hohenstoffeln: here, a fen shapes the landscape, while there, it is the climb up the mountain. These two details help distinguish the different landscape features of the surrounding area.

Hike up Hohenstoffeln

A moderately difficult hike leads from Weiterdingen up Hohenstoffeln. It is 7.86 kilometres long, takes about 2 hours and 6 minutes, and has trails in good condition. The starting point is the car park by the sports ground on Wiesentalstraße. The distance and approximate duration provide a concrete framework for planning the day; the time given is an estimate.

After climbing up from Weiterdingen, you can see impressive columnar formations of black volcanic rock in the disused quarry on the north side of Hohenstoffeln. The quarry adds a geological highlight to the hike, without being confused with the historic buildings. Taken together, the topics described show different sides of Weiterdingen: its position at the eastern foot of the massif, its notable architectural history, and a route with a specific destination.

For the broader travel overview: Hilzingen.