Friesenhagen, Germany
13th century
Andernach, Germany
14th century
Schneppenbach, Germany
10th century AD
Bollendorf, Germany
8th century AD
Gerolstein, Germany
13th century
Kordel, Germany
14th century
Merzalben, Germany
1237
Annweiler, Germany
12th century
Balduinstein, Germany
1319
Ulmen, Germany
c. 1000
Winnweiler, Germany
12th century
Lieser, Germany
1884
Nassau, Germany
c. 1100
Kobern-Gondorf, Germany
12th century
Klotten, Germany
960 AD
Dudeldorf, Germany
1345
Baumholder, Germany
14th century
Balduinstein, Germany
12th century
Burgschwalbach, Germany
1354-1371
Mürlenbach, Germany
8th century AD
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.