The Maienfels Castle at Wüstenrot in the Heilbronn district was built between 1230 and 1250. The core of the castle, still largely intact, was completely surrounded by a curtain wall. At that time, the lords of Neudeck were the inhabitants and owners of the castle. Over the course of the fourteenth century, it became more of a so-called “Ganerbiat”. This means that several knightly families shared the ownership of the castle. In the year 1441, during a feud, the Maienfels Castle was besieged, conquered and partly destroyed. Over the next twenty years, the castle was rebuilt under a new Ganerbiat (community of heirs). Parts of the castle were adapted to the new military requirements which arose from the development of firearms.