Architectural model

There is evidence of settlement and fortification of the Zähringer Burgberg (castle hill) as early as the 4th and 5th centuries; a castle is first mentioned in documents in 1128. The extant round tower was probably built in the second half of the 13th century, when Freiburg had to restore the castle after clashes between the counts of Freiburg and King Rudolf of Habsburg. After a pledging of chattels, it became the property of the Freiburg patrician family Snewelin in 1327. During the Great Peasants’ War, the site was destroyed in 1525 and not rebuilt. It was designated an ancestral seat under the rule of the Grand Dukes of Baden, who traced their ancestry back to the Zähringer. The »table model« of the tower dates back to this time.