Alte Vogtei

General information

This building was once the home of the administrative officer of the House of Leyen. Behind it is the old tithe barn in which townsfolk had to offer a tenth of their earnings. One historic tale still told today relates to the administrator and privy councillor Dr Philipp Carl Edler von Schmidt zu Dautenstein who ran the office from 1788. He fell from grace when accused of embezzlement. At the court case in Rastatt he was ordered to return the funds. He died a lonely and impoverished man in 1822. His gravestone can be found behind the Church of St. Nikolaus. Every year in the run up to Lent, the local carnival club – Eulenzunft-Seelbach – re-enact the story surrounding Dr Schmidt in ways typical of the carnival tradition.