Pfalzgrafenstein Castle

Pfalzgrafenstein Castle (German: Burg Pfalzgrafenstein), also known as the Pfalz, is a toll castle situated on Falkenau island in the Rhine River, adjacent to Kaub, Germany.

First established in 1326/27 by King Ludwig IV of Bavaria, the castle served to collect river tolls from passing traffic. Also seeing military activity, it withstood a 39 day siege in 1504 in the War of the Succession of Landshut and was occupied by Spanish forces for 11 years from 1620 in the Thirty Year's War. The castle has undergone various modifications since its original construction, most notably modernising fortifications in 1607 and the addition of a baroque tower cap in 1714. Pfalzgrafenstein Castle was used as a key point for the crossing of the Rhine in 1814 by Russo-Prussian forces during the campaign against Napoleon. Toll collection ceased in 1867, but the castle has remained in good condition and is now preserved as a public museum.

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

Pfalzgrafenstein Castle ranks #771 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #62 of the 492 mapped in Germany. Founded 1326, it is older than 61% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 582 atlas entries founded in the 14th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 9,009 times in the last 60 days, more than 92% of the atlas. 23 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Koblenz, 33 km away. It is one of the 33 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of the Middle Rhine. See how Germany compares in the castle statistics.

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