The Residence (Palas or Castle)

Overview

In order to enter the main castle it is necessary to pass through the gate house at the shield wall. As seen on Matthäus Merians engraving from 1643, the gate house had a gabled roof in the east-west direction.
The tower dwelling type of residence was situated on the eastern side of the castle. The remains of the three lower floors still exist. The oldest part of the building dates back to the 13th Century.
During the 15th Century there were fundamental building alterations and an expansion of the palas to the south. As seen on the depiction from 1643, the building had two half-timbered upper stories. To the north it had a simple triangular gable, to the south a half hawk.
The palas, which was called „castle“ during the 16th Century, was apparently renovated by Württemberg‘s court architect Heinrich Schickhardt (1558-1635). There is a record of his building function at Hohennagold.
A letter from Nagold’s bailiffs, or administrators, Count von Kandel and Jo. Fr. Neher, to the Duke of Württemberg in 1644 describes the condition of the house. The palas, or large residence with its built-on kitchen, stands free on a high and mighty fundament of stone and has a good cellar, five sitting-rooms, eight smaller rooms, three kitchens and three corn lofts.