Elmstein Castle | |
---|---|
Burg Elmstein | |
Elmstein | |
Elmstein Castle - View of the castle rock and the ruins of the shield wall from the southeast | |
Coordinates | 49°21′08″N7°55′58″E / 49.3522°N 7.9327°E Coordinates: 49°21′08″N7°55′58″E / 49.3522°N 7.9327°E |
Type | hill castle, spur castle |
Code | DE-RP |
Height | 290 m above sea level (NN) |
Site information | |
Condition | ruin |
Site history | |
Built | probably 12th century |
Elmstein Castle (German : Burg Elmstein) is a castle ruin built in the High Middle Ages overlooking Elmstein in the Palatinate Forest in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It was built in the 12th century.
The ruins are on a hill, 290 metres (950 ft) high, on the northern side of the Speyerbach valley (Speyerbachtal) in the Palatinate Forest (Pfälzerwald).
In the 12th and 13th centuries, Elmstein was built as a Palatine castle in order to guard the route through the valley. The feoffees held the title of Schenk, a German aristocratic title that originally meant cup bearer. The castle occupied by the Electorate of the Palatinate. Between 1220 and 1230, the lower curtain wall was built. Emperor Louis IV of Bavaria ceded the castle to his cousin, the Count Palatine. From 1419 to 1437, the castle was occupied by Count John V of Sponheim. In 1466, the castle was enfeoffed by Frederick I the Elector, to Erhard of Remchingen. In 1513, in the course of changes of ownership, Henry of Pagk was given the castle as a fief. During the German Peasants' War in 1525 the castle was damaged. Count Palatine John Casimir inherited the castle in 1576. The castle was also damaged during the Thirty Years' War in 1648. In 1689, during the War of the Palatine Succession, the castle fell into a permanent state of disrepair. Since then, the castle has been in private ownership.
The remains of the parts of the original curtain walls, the palas and the shield wall are still able to be seen today.
Altdahn Castle is a castle ruin in the Palatinate Forest, the German part of the Wasgau region. It is located near the town of Dahn in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It stands 337 metres (1,106 ft) above sea level (NN).
Blumenstein Castle is a castle ruin in the Palatinate Forest in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. According to the State of Rhineland-Palatinate, Blumenstein castle was probably constructed in the first half of the 13th century as part of a line of defensive castles along the Alsatian border.
Spangenberg Castle is the partially rebuilt ruin of a rock castle in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It lies in the Palatine Forest above the Elmstein valley near the village of Erfenstein, but is actually on the forest estates belong to the town of Neustadt an der Weinstraße, or more precisely, the village of Lachen-Speyerdorf. Together with the neighbouring castle of Erfenstein, it is linked to the legend of the Leather Bridge.
Sooneck Castle is a castle in the upper middle valley of the Rhine, in the Mainz-Bingen district of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is located near the village of Niederheimbach between Bingen and Bacharach.
The castle of Neuscharfeneck is a ruin and a cultural monument above Ramberg and Dernbach on the territory of an exclave of Flemlingen in the district of Südliche Weinstraße in the west German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Frankenstein Castle is a medieval fortification on a spur above the village of Frankenstein, Rhineland-Palatinate in the Palatinate Forest in Germany. Its name derives from the local House of Frankenstein.
The castles of Dahn, near the little town of Dahn in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, consist of three rock castles:
Grafendahn Castle lies in the southern Palatine Forest, the German part of the Wasgau region, just under 1 kilometre east of the small town of Dahn in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Tanstein Castle is the ruin of a rock castle in the southern Palatine Forest, the German part of the Wasgau region. It lies just under a kilometre east of the small town of Dahn in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
The rock castle of Neudahn, in the southwestern Palatine Forest in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, is located at the northern end of an elongated ridge near the town of Dahn. The heart of the castle is situated on one of the sandstone rock outcrops that are typical of the Dahner Felsenland region.
Haardt Castle or Villa Clemm after its builder, is a schloss-like villa in the municipality of Haardt near the town of Neustadt an der Weinstraße in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Erfenstein Castle is a medieval spur castle in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It lies within the Palatine Forest above the Elmstein Valley at 265 m above sea level (NN) in the vicinity of the hamlet of Erfenstein in the municipality of Esthal. Together with nearby Spangenberg Castle, it is linked to the legend of the Leather Bridge.
Murrmirnichtviel Lodge, alternatively spelt Murr-mir-nicht-viel, occasionally Murmel-nicht-viel, is a ruined hunting lodge with a watchtower that used to belong to the counts of Leiningen. It lies in the Palatine Forest southwest of the county town of Bad Dürkheim in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Schaudichnichtum Lodge was a former hunting lodge southwest of the town of Bad Dürkheim in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Like its near neighbours, Kehrdichannichts, Murrmirnichtviel and Jägerthal, it was used as accommodation for the nobility of the Electoral Palatinate during the 18th century when they went hunting in the Palatine Forest.
The ruins of Breitenstein Castle stand on a crag, 220 metres (720 ft) high, on the northern side of the Speyerbach valley in the Palatine Forest in Germany. The castles is 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) east of the village of Elmstein in the county of Bad Dürkheim in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Lemberg Castle is a medieval castle on the territory of Lemberg in the county of Südwestpfalz in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Lindelbrunn Castle is the medieval ruin of a rock castle near the village of Vorderweidenthal in the county of Südliche Weinstraße in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
The Wilgartaburg, also called the Wiligartaburg, Wilgartsburg or Wiligartisburg, is the heritage site of a ruined rock castle located at a height of 245 m above sea level (NN) near the German village of Wilgartswiesen in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
The Frankenburg is a natural monument with the ruins of a rock castle in the county of Südliche Weinstraße in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It lies above the Modenbach valley on a rocky outcrop of the Frankenberg called the Frankenfelsen and was built to guard the road opposite Meistersel Castle.
Old Wolfstein Castle, is a ruined hillside castle on the eastern slopes of the Königsberg at the narrowest point in the Lauter valley near Wolfstein in the county of Kusel in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.