Schloss Großkötz

Schloss Großkötz stands on a small hill in the village of Großkötz in Schwaben. The building is a two-winged structure with three storeys, a hipped roof and pilaster strips. It was completed in 1760 by Joseph Dossenberger for the provosts of Wettenhausen. After the Ehinger family lost their lease in 1743, the site passed to the monastery. Today the former summer palace houses the local parish house.

The castle’s long history begins with a Hartmann de Kez mentioned in the 11th century. In 1312 the monastery of Neresheim exchanged its Großkötz estates for lands at Wettenhausen. The Kötz lords held the site as a fief of the margraves of Burgau until 1408, when it went to the Ulm patrician family Ehinger. The Ehingers kept the lease until their line died out in 1743.

Visitors find a protected monument with simple classical detailing. The pilasters frame plain façades under the hipped roof. Inside, the former summer residence now serves as the parish house, its rooms arranged around a central staircase. The setting on the hilltop offers views across the surrounding countryside. The building’s restrained elegance reflects its 18th-century origins.