Hardenburg Castle

Hardenburg castle on the eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest near the town of Bad Dürkheim is even as a ruin one of the mightiest castles of Palatinate. Built at the beginning of the 13th century by the Counts of Leiningen as a comparatively modest hilltop castle, the Hardenburg was expanded in the 16th century into a fortified Renaissance residence. Mighty walls and bulwarks, turrets and catacombs still bear witness to its fortress-like character. At the same time gardens, the remains of spacious residential wings and once magnificent hall buildings point to an important civilian use as a residential palace of the Leiningen family.

The castle survived the Thirty Years' War, but was occupied by the French in the Palatinate War of Succession in 1690, partly destroyed, then rebuilt by the Leiningers. The end of the Hardenburg came with the conquest of Bad Dürkheim by French revolutionary troops in 1794: the interior furnishings were destroyed and the Westbollwerk, which towers over the entire complex, was blown up. Afterwards, the occupation administration released the area for the extraction of building materials. But what remained of the former Feste Schloss and has been secured or restored since the late 19th century is still an imposing and interesting historical relic. 

An exciting insight into the history of this monument is provided by an exhibition in the visitor centre with a film as well as a multimedia guide, which takes you back to the age of the Renaissance with detailed computer reconstructions and shows the grounds and rooms and halls as they were in the castle's heyday.

Address
Kaiserslauterer Straße 393, Bad Dürkheim, Germany

Established
13th century