Westerburg Castle (Westerwald)
today's Westerburg Castle , first documented in 1192, but probably built earlier, is located on a plateau in what is now the city center of the city of Westerburg in the Westerwald . The forerunner castle initially belonged to the Counts of Leiningen and came to the Lords of Runkel by the beginning of the 13th century at the latest . In the first half of the 13th century, the castle became the seat of the Lords of Westerburg , who finally split off from the House of Runkel in 1288 with Heinrich I. von Westerburg. The castle was significantly expanded and rebuilt over the years and for a long time was the residence of a branch of the Counts of Leiningen-Westerburg. The Burgplateu was originally located east of the town of Westerburg, but is now enclosed by it.
Little is known about the building history. The northeast corner and the eastern front of the complex are likely to be the oldest sections still in existence today. They contain the castle chapel and are believed to date from the early 13th century. The building that houses the great hall was completed between 1476 and 1483. Shortly before 1561 there must also have been a renovation and renewal campaign. A picture from the 18th century shows an already ruinous tower that still came from the medieval complex and was located above the entrance to the castle plateau. At the end of the 18th century, however, this tower seems to have largely disappeared. The remaining parts of the complex that exist today date from the 18th century.
Today the castle is privately owned and houses a restaurant and a dental practice.
literature
- Hellmuth Gensicke : On the local history of Nassau: Westerburg . In: Association for Nassau antiquity and historical research (Hrsg.): Nassauische Annalen . tape 99 . Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, Wiesbaden 1988, p. 191-214 .
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 33 ′ 47.3 " N , 7 ° 58 ′ 28.2" E
