Beilstein, Germany
12th century
Mayen, Germany
12th century
Trechtingshausen, Germany
1100
Alken, Germany
1198-1206
Andernach, Germany
c. 1200
Dahn, Germany
1287
Bingen am Rhein, Germany
13th century
Dahn, Germany
12th century
Dahn, Germany
1200-1236
Thallichtenberg, Germany
1200
Idar-Oberstein, Germany
14th century
Kastellaun, Germany
13th century
Niederdürenbach, Germany
14th century
Lahnstein, Germany
1226
Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Germany
11th century
Neuleiningen, Germany
1238-1241
Manderscheid, Germany
12th century
Schönau, Germany
13th century
Traben-Trarbach, Germany
1350
Diez, Germany
11th 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.