Drachenfels Castle

Drachenfels Castle is a ruined hill castle near the village of Busenberg in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It lies within the German half of the Wasgau region, the southern part of the Palatinate Forest.

Drachenfels Castle is about 7 kilometres (4 mi) north of the Franco-German border on the eponymous 150-metre-long bunter sandstone rocks which are on a ridge at an elevation of 368 metres (1,207 ft) above sea level. The highest part of the rocks was turned into a keep or bergfried. Because of its present appearances the remains of the tower are known as the Backenzahn ("molar tooth") by the locals and make it one of the most striking castles in Rhineland-Palatinate.

Not far from the Drachenfels are several other historic castles: just 3 kilometres (2 mi) to the south-east is Berwartstein; a similar distance to the north-west are the three castles of Dahn; Lindelbrunn is 6 kilometres (4 mi) northeast and the group of castles on the Franco-German border - the Wegelnburg (German) and the Hohnebourg, Lœwenstein and Fleckenstein (all on the French side) - are 10 kilometres (6 mi) to the southwest.

Man-made chambers have been hewn out of a rock massif opposite the castle, the so-called Buchkammerfels, which lies on the Heidenberg, 420 metres (1,380 ft) high. The date and function of these Heidenkammern are unknown: it is speculated it may have been an outpost of the Drachenfels.

The name of the castle could have come from the dragon carved in the sandstone wall of the old great hall of the castle. However, because it has not been dated it is also possible that the dragon was inscribed on the wall because of the castle's name.

The origins of the castle are largely unclear. Archaeological finds here can be dated to the mid-13th century, but the castle was already in existence in the early 12th century. In 1209 the brothers Conrad and William of Drachenfels were first mentioned in the records. Historian, Johann Lehmann (1797–1876), named a Burkhard of Drachenfels between 1219 and 1221 who was in service for the House of Hohenstaufen, but he gave no references. Other documents confirm that in 1288 a dispute was settled between the cousins Rudolph and Anselm of Drachenfels, and the Bishop of Worms. The oldest surviving seal of these two cousins depicts a dragon in a pointed shield (Spitzschild).

Text adapted from “Drachenfels Castle (Wasgau)” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Drachenfels Castle ranks #4,483 of 7,044 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #344 of the 475 mapped in Germany. See how Germany compares in the castle statistics.

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