Reichenberg

Reichenberg could be very interesting... if open!  However, as of 2008, when these photos were taken, the castle was closed to visitors due to its poor condition.

However, it once did have visitors.  If you look very carefully at the top "notch" in the center of the castle, you can see the lines of a metal stairway.  This would have taken visitors to walk along the wall to the right.

I do have a funny story to tell about my second visit to Reichenberg.  I managed to find a very narrow road which took me near the castle.  As I got to the top of the road, I tried to turn the car around and ran over.... a huge block of stone hidden in the grass!  Clunk... clunk!  I thought for a brief moment that I had just damaged my rental car.  Fortunately, nothing came of it, but it certainly made a lot of noise.

Reichenberg had belonged to the powerful Katzenelnbogen family, and was their third castle in the area, having been built in the 14th century.  The architectural design bears some eastern influence, possibly a result of the Syrian Crusades.  Started by Count Wilhelm in 1313, it was still incomplete by his death in 1331, with only the main palas and flanking towers finished. The castle was divided up among the family heirs and expanded, having casemates built that are considered some of the oldest in Germany.  In 1479, the castle passed to Hesse and remaind in their ownership until the 1800s.  Damaged during the Thirty Years War, efforts were made to restore it in the 1650s.  However, its location was not strategic and its importance waned.  As a result, the site was used for administrative purposes and later as a granery.

By 1814, the castle was in serious decay.  One of the towers was blown up in that year due to fears of it collapsing, and the last tower collapsed in 1971. Since then steal scaffolding has been used to reinforce the structure, but it is still considered unsafe.  As a consequence it is not open to the public.

Above and right, two interesting views of Reichenberg.  The photo at right shows Reichenberg c1950s (?).  The one above shows a slightly different angle, the stub tower being the base of the tower that collapsed in 1971.

The right photo came from the web and is not mine, being a fairly well-known shot of the ruin.