Germany · 13th century
Lahneck Castle (German: Burg Lahneck) is a medieval fortress located in the city of Lahnstein in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, south of Koblenz. The 13th-century castle stands on a steep rock salient above the confluence of the Lahn River with the Rhine, opposite Stolzenfels Castle, in the district of Oberlahnstein. Its symmetrical plan, an oblong rectangle, is typical of the later castles of the time of the Hohenstaufen. The pentagonal shape of the bergfried is rare for castle towers.
The castle became well known in Britain by the death of Idilia Dubb in June 1851. While on holiday with her family, the 17-year-old girl mounted the abandoned castle's high tower, when suddenly the wooden stairs collapsed behind her. Nobody heard her crying and calling from the tower, because it was surrounded by an insurmountable wall, 3 meters high. The last entry in her diary: “All I know is that there is no hope for me. My death is certain [...] 'Father in heaven, have mercy on my soul'.” She was only found years later in 1860, her diary hidden in the walls some weeks later.
Text adapted from “Lahneck Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Lahneck Castle ranks #2,039 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #159 of the 711 mapped in Germany. Founded 1226, it is older than 73% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 1080 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 2,968 times in the last 60 days, more than 78% of the atlas. 33 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Koblenz, 6 km away. It is one of the 39 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of the Middle Rhine. It is stop 24 of 32 on the Rhine castle route, Bingen to Koblenz. See how Germany compares in the castle statistics.
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