Bronnen Castle, which can only be reached via a drawbridge, is located in an absolutely spectacular location on the top of a steeply sloping cliff. Jürgen Bickel and his partner Claudia Link live here for rent. The castle complex, which is not open to the public, is located in the Upper Danube Valley not far from Tuttlingen. The Danube flows below the castle.
Claudia and Jürgen live on the estate in a tenancy limited to five years. Through his acquaintance with the Enzberg family, Jürgen Bickel learned about the rental of this special property.
The castle complex has been in the possession of the Enzberg family since 1409, and was built as early as 1150. Initially, the property consisted mainly of a fortified dwelling. Around 1750, this was rebuilt into the present castle building. This was followed by the chapel and the hunter's lodge, which today serves as a guesthouse.
Since 1950, the Enzberger family has rented out the estate privately: "In the process, each tenant left something that was beneficial to the castle," Jürgen Bickel explains. "I think that's a nice thought." And although Jürgen and Claudia only live in the castle on a temporary basis and for rent, they invested almost two years to get the castle in shape and modernize it in accordance with the preservation order.
Jürgen has always been fascinated by managing and developing real estate, so he was in charge of the renovation. This involved preparing the floors and painting the walls and ceilings - all with a maximum of two additional helpers. "It was already a lot of work," Jürgen recounts with a laugh.
Claudia then took care of the finishing touches: the furnishings. Claudia got most of the furniture from villa liquidations or by searching the Internet: "I always made sure that the furnishings were a mix of old and new, and that each room had its own unique aesthetic and its own color scheme."
Getting the furniture pieces into the castle was a particular challenge. That's because there are only 150 winding steps leading up to the castle, or a freight cable car built by one of the previous tenants that can only be reached by a steep path. Almost all the furniture and materials for the renovation were transported to the castle piece by piece along this path. In winter, this transport route is often not possible, because the steep access road to the cable car is hardly passable for vehicles in snow.
Larger purchases and crates of drinks are also transported via the cable car. Jürgen and Claudia are very happy to have visitors. "When you look at this property, you quickly realize that it is much too big for just two people. We often invite our family and friends and then it is always: for the guests only the best. The two of them have already cooked for more than 70 people themselves. And the guests celebrate that. If it gets too long, the couple has a total of 14 beds to offer. However, the property cannot be rented for events.
The castle is also not barrier-free. There are 150 steps up to the kitchen.
In winter, Claudia and Jürgen usually retreat to the living floor so as not to have to heat all the rooms. The living quarters are heated with modern wood-burning stoves, each of which was transported up the castle in seven cable cars.
If all the rooms have to be heated because guests are visiting, it can cost 200 euros a day.
So living at Bronnen Castle definitely has its disadvantages. But when Jürgen and Claudia stand at the top of their vantage point, which offers almost a 360-degree view, they are quite sure that all the efforts and investments were worth it. And even if they only stay for five years, they are happy to have contributed to the preservation of such a place.
A film by Feline Gerhardt (editor), Enno Endlicher and Alex Kühn (camera), Cécilia Marchat (sound) and Sam Handel (editing). Production: EIKON Media GmbH, on behalf of SWR.
00:00 Living in Bronnen Castle
01:31 Entrance area
02:52 Bar
04:23 Bathroom
05:29 Living room
07:42 Kitchen
08:23 Bedroom
09:28 Knight room
10:32 Guest room
10:57 Chapel
12:18 Viewpoint