Münzenberg Castle

Münzenberg Castle (German. Burg Münzenberg) is a ruined hill castle in the town of the same name in the Wetteraukreis, Hesse, Germany. It dates from the 12th century. It is one of the best preserved castles from the High Middle Ages in Germany.

The first lord of nearby Arnsburg known by name is Kuno von Arnsburg, who served Emperor Heinrich IV as a Ministerialis in 1057. Around 1064 he married Gräfin Mathilde of the House of Bilstein. Their daughter, Gertrud (b. c. 1065, d. before 1093) married Eberhard von Hagen (1075-1122), lord of Burg Hayn near Frankfurt, who moved his seat to Arnsburg and changed his name to "von Hagen und Arnsburg". Under Eberhard's son, Konrad I (1093-1130) the family became the most powerful in the Wetterau and the Rhine-Main region. Konrad II exchanged properties with Fulda Abbey, receiving the land around Münzenberg Castle. The name Münzenberg means Mint mountain, after the mint growing on the hill.

His son, Kuno I (1151-1207), from 1156 styled himself von Münzenberg, implying that by then a castle had been built at Münzenberg and the earlier one at Arnsburg had been vacated. He was the chamberlain of Emperor Frederick II who wished to preserve the Wetterau region as imperial Crown land, and thus agreed that his faithful built a prominent castle dominating the country far and wide.

The exact time of the construction is controversial in research. It is generally assumed that during the time of Kuno I, significant parts of the ring wall around the main castle, the Romanesque palace, the eastern keep, the gate building with the chapel above it and parts of the kitchen building were built. This construction phase is said to have ended in 1174 at the latest without the circular wall being completed. The palace remained unplastered, the kitchen building a torso.

With the death of Ulrich II of Münzenberg in 1255 the male line of the imperial ministerialis of Münzenberg died out. His inheritance was divided among six of his sisters, with Ysegarde of Münzenberg bringing the castle and associated lands into her marriage to another imperial ministerialis, Philipp IV., Lord of Falkenstein, the treasure keeper of the Imperial Regalia. Around 1260, brisk building activity began under him.

Text adapted from “Münzenberg Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Münzenberg Castle ranks #2,606 of 8,133 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #194 of the 505 mapped in Germany. Founded c. 1150, it is older than 81% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 563 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 3,148 times in the last 60 days, more than 76% of the atlas. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Frankfurt, 39 km away. See how Germany compares in the castle statistics.

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