Langenburg is a town in the district of Schwäbisch Hall

Schwäbisch Hall (district)

Schwäbisch Hall is a district in the north-east of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Main-Tauber, the Bavarian district Ansbach, Ostalbkreis, Rems-Murr and Hohenlohe.-History:...

, in Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It is located on a hill above the river Jagst

Jagst

The Jagst is a right tributary of the Neckar in northern Baden-Württemberg. It is 189 km long. Its source is in the hills east of Ellwangen, close to the Bavarian border. It winds through the towns Ellwangen, Crailsheim, Kirchberg an der Jagst, Langenburg, Krautheim, Möckmühl and Neudenau...

, 18 km northeast of Schwäbisch Hall

Schwäbisch Hall

Schwäbisch Hall is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg and capital of the district of Schwäbisch Hall. The town is located in the valley of the river Kocher in the north-eastern part of Baden-Württemberg....

. It is also the place where the Wibele

Wibele

Wibele are very small, sweet biscuits originating from the Franconian city of Langenburg in Germany, though nowadays they are considered a Swabian speciality. The dough is made from egg white, icing sugar, flour and vanilla sugar. They are similar to "Russisch Brot" , another form of German...

 - small, sweet, biscuit-like pastries - were invented and are still baked today.

History

The history of Langenburg begins with the building of a castle on the western hill crag. Prehistoric settling is likely, but not proven. Langenburg is first documented in 1226. The free Lords of Langenburg, which stepped into history in 1201, were closely related to the Lords of Hohenlohe. Maybe they even held family bonds. After the Langenburgs had died out, the Hohenlohe family inherited the possessions. Langenburg thus came under the rule of Hohenlohe

Hohenlohe

Hohenlohe is the name of a German princely family and the name of their principality.At first rulers of a county, its two branches were raised to the rank of principalities of the Holy Roman Empire in 1744 and 1764 respectively; in 1806 they lost their independence and their lands formed part of...

 and remained part of the Principality

Principality

A principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or princess, or by a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince....

 for the next centuries.
Since 1568 Langenburg was the residency of the county and latter principality Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Hohenlohe-Langenburg was a German county of northeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located around Langenburg. Hohenlohe-Neuenstein was partitioned into it, Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen and Hohenlohe-Kirchberg in 1701...

.

In the 17th Century, Langenburg was the site of witch trials. The last victims, Anna Schmieg and Barbara Schleicher, were executed in 1672.

Sights

Langenburg has a vintage car museum and a large castle, the seat of the family of Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Hohenlohe-Langenburg

Hohenlohe-Langenburg was a German county of northeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located around Langenburg. Hohenlohe-Neuenstein was partitioned into it, Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen and Hohenlohe-Kirchberg in 1701...

.