Charlie Battery - Kleingartach

Schloß Stocksberg Detailed Aerial View - Ca. 1955 - 1960</p>

The first Schloss was constructed more on the valley floor and they later chose to build up on the hill at its current location. In 1525 the Schloß was destroyed by a peasant insurrection and by 1530 commissions were made to begin reconstruction, which resulted in the basic site as it exists today.

This is another great photo. However it is actually from a Post Card provided by a Graham family member of 1st Lt. Roger Graham, who was the IFC Platoon Leader from 1960 - 1961, and has a place on our Honor Roll.

I have scanned this image very carefully, and I can't find any visual evidence of the battery, so this photo of the top of the Heuchelberg must have been taken before any construction began. For an even larger view of this image, please “Click Here” and be amazed.

This photo really details the layout of the Castle grounds. It is a unique opportunity to understand how and why the building are where they are. And to the left looks to be vegetable garden area use do supply for the inhabitants.

Also, there is an area that is to the right of the compound that I can't identify and I am wondering if it is an old Cemetery, although it could also be a stone storage and stone working work area for castle maintenance and repair.

Dr. Otfreid Kies a professor of Philosophy has written a brief history of the Schloß that is one of the official handouts that the castle provides its visitors. You can read the document that has been recently added to our Archive page, so please “Click Here” to read that interesting kistory. It is presented in both English and German.

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Schloß Stocksberg

I guess a primary reason why being in Germany, and specifically the area around the Kaserne was exciting to me, was and actually still is, the span of history one can sense and see that permeates the mind and landscape.

The incredible leap of time, from stone age to the present, is mind boggling to me. The land has been worked for thousands of years, and along with the countless generations of people that have come and gone, it all simply seems timeless and eternal.

So I guess being in that agricultural environment and having a beautiful well kept castle on one's horizon where one could visit and ponder on a warm summer evening was a magical experience... I loved it...! And looking up at the Schloss Stocksberg from down below in the village of Stockheim, with the sweep of vineyards flowing across the hillsides was a very storybook image.

Visions of medieval knights on their mighty steeds, with all their pageantry, clopping down the dirt road towards the castle gates would come to mind. And Wine festivals after the harvest season celebrating the end of a spring and summers very hard work, again like the Pieter Brueghel paintings of the 1500's.

Maybe being from a country that places little value on it's history continually tearing it down, without a sense of continuity, had something to do with it. And maybe the need to belong to that greater sense of time and place did as well.

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The Main Gate At Schloß Stocksberg - 1966

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The Schloß Courtyard</p>

This is another photo from a Post Card provided by a family member of 1st Lt. Roger Graham.

It is a great detailed example of the pomp and pageantry of mediaeval castle decor and architectural ornamentation.

I really like the way to tower windows follow the angle of the interior circular stairway, which I have never seen before. Not only is it rather unique, but it seems to have been intentionally designed to stand out as an architectural element from the bottom window to the top.

Also, the stone masonry is really quite extraordinary, taking the horizontal stone work and integrating it with the angle of those window elements. There seems to have been a lot of extra work in special cuts of stone to make it work in a seamless manner.

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Erik's Wife Odie

The owner of the Schloß at the time was a man named Erik. Unfortunately I can't remember what his last name was... Anyone know...?

His wife was named Odie. She was born in Java, and also spent 6 years in China.

You can tell she is a sweetheart and has a good sense of humor playing to the camera in good fun.

They both were good and friendly people.

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Perimeter Wall & Guard Tower - With Stockheim & Countryide In The Background

I love this image. There is so much to learn from it.

First, is the Medieval Architecture and the work of the highly skilled stone masons, and actually at that time the Master Stone Mason was the architect.

The decorative elements, like around the top of the guard tower, as well as the basic stone work of the outer perimeter wall are well crafted and still in excellent condition. And the primary stone base and the stone wall of the Schloß site are in tact and skillfully worked.

Second, is the background landscape, which fortunately, is in a remarkably good focus illustrating wonderful patterns, textures, and a variety of perspectives.

Just to the left of the guard tower passed the trees is Saint Ulrich's Church. It was first built in 1536 as a parish church and was later sold the the Order of Teutonic Knights, or in German the “Deusche Orderern”, in 1541.

The various patterns of field colors and lineal flows visually illustrates the undulating nature of the terrain, with those lines flowing down to meet each other in their various perspectives as the land flattens out on the valley floor.

Also, with all of the stacks of harvested hay drying im the warm sun, the time of year must be towards the end of summer. All of the seasoons on the Heuchelberg were wonderful, but the summers, with all of the different crops growing all around us, was really a special time.

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Corner Defense Tower

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The Castle Keep With A Panoramic View

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Moat Bridge Schloß Entrance</p>

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The Bridge From The Tower To The Schloß

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