Castle                                                            (Wasserstetter Str. 4)

The ”reichsunmittelbar” rule (self-governing rule under the Kaiser) of Buttenhausen was under the authority of an aristocratic family until the 16^th century and again in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. A classic residence was built around 1816 not far from the older stately Meierhof. The plans could well be traced to Doctor Christoph von Weidenbach, whose family coat of arms has been inserted above the entrance gate. 

In 1934 the city of Stuttgart acquired the entire estate for a ”Beschäftigungs- und Bewahranstalt”, an institution for social welfare. The home was operated by the Gustav Werner Foundation in Reutlingen. In the following years the functions of the organization were expanded to include the care of handicapped persons. The Christian standards of the home´s directing staff were continually confronted with the reality of the Nazi regime. Thus, so-called ”asocial” beings were dealt with in a similar fashion as those in the National Socialist camps. However, the home was able to prevent its handicapped occupants being murdered by operation T4 (”euthanasia”).  

Since 1959 the society ”Haus am Berg” (”house on the mountain”) in Bad Urach provides supervised accomodation and employment for approximately 300 handicapped and elderly persons in the country house in Buttenhausen. Today the Landheim is Buttenhausen´s largest employer.