Untergruppenbach

is a municipality near Heilbronn, a city in the northern half of the German state Baden-Württemberg.There are a total of 7,600 inhabitants living in six villages that form the municipality of Untergruppenbach. Approximately 5,100 live in Untergruppenbach, Donnbronn and Obergruppenbach. An additional 2,500 live in Unterheinriet, Oberheinriet and Vorhof.Untergruppenbach's name roughly means "below the 'Groppe' (a sort of small fish) stream", referring to a small stream that cuts across the valley in which Untergruppenbach and Obergruppenbach are located. The village is distinguished by Burg Stettenfels, a 16th-century castle/manor that stands out above the valley, from its lofty position atop a hill.HistoryUntergruppenbach is first mentioned in the Monastery of Hirsau, where reference is made to a village settled by the Franconians in the 6th century. It was later named after a small fish, the Groppe or Koppe, which is mentioned as being present in a stream near the settlement. After some 700 years of independent rule, the village was sold to Ludwig II, Duke of Bavaria, from whence the orb in the village's coat of arms probably originates.In 1356 Burg Stettenfels is first mentioned. After a series of wars, in 1504 the castle came into the possession of the Dukes of Württemberg. Some years later it was sold to Wolff Philipp of Huernheim, who restored it. In 1551 the famous renaissance merchant-banker Fugger family, of Augsburg, came to own the castle. It is under Count Fugger that the castle received its current appearance.