Braubach, Germany
c. 1117
Wierschem, Germany
12th century
Cochem, Germany
1100
Linz am Rhein, Germany
1365
Sankt Goar, Germany
1245
Manderscheid, Germany
12th century
Saarburg, Germany
964 AD
Boppard, Germany
13th century
Trechtingshausen, Germany
1316
Bacharach, Germany
c. 1135
Oberwesel, Germany
1100-1149
Gerolstein, Germany
12th century
Landstuhl, Germany
1162
Monreal, Germany
13th century
Adenau, Germany
12th century
Mayen, Germany
13th century
Idar-Oberstein, Germany
c. 1150
Kaub, Germany
1326
Koblenz, Germany
1259/1826
Bernkastel-Kues, Germany
13th century
The Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg is situated in a strategic area on a rocky spur overlooking the Upper Rhine Plain, it was used by successive powers from the Middle Ages until the Thirty Years' War when it was abandoned. From 1900 to 1908 it was rebuilt at the behest of the German kaiser Wilhelm II. Today it is a major tourist site, attracting more than 500,000 visitors a year.
The first records of a castle built by the Hohenstaufens date back to 1147. The fortress changed its name to Koenigsburg (royal castle) around 1157. The castle was handed over to the Tiersteins by the Habsburgs following its destruction in 1462. They rebuilt and enlarged it, installing a defensive system designed to withstand artillery fire.
The fortification work accomplished over the 15th century did not suffice to keep the Swedish artillery at bay during the Thirty Years War, and the defences were overrun.