Westerwald
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"Here a valley, quite broad and beautiful.A city shall once stand here.In the middle – a stone colossusUpon which a castle will someday grow."
These lines from a homeland poem by Friedrich Schweitzer describe both the location of the town and the dominance of the castle in the cityscape. The castle, like the railway bridge built in 1906, is one of the landmarks of the town.
Westerburg Castle, first documented in the year 1192 but likely built earlier, is located in the town of Westerburg and is already visible from afar when coming from Limburg. It is based on a fortress from the 12th century.
This originally belonged to the Counts of Leiningen and came into the possession of the Lords of Runkel at the beginning of the 13th century through the marriage of Siegfried III of Runkel with a daughter from the House of Leiningen.
In the first half of the 13th century, the castle became the seat of the Lords of Westerburg, who definitively split from the House of Runkel by 1288 with Heinrich I of Westerburg:
In 1270, Heinrich I, a son of Siegfried II, took over the Westerburg, while his brother received the Runkel Castle. Since 1274, Heinrich referred exclusively to the Westerburg and also incorporated the Westerburg coat of arms into his seal: a golden cross in a red field, with each corner adorned with 5 golden crosslets.
The castle was significantly expanded and rebuilt over time and was for a long time the residence of a branch of the Counts of Leiningen-Westerburg.
This line, however, went extinct by the end of the 16th century, falling completely into the hands of the Schaumburgers - so Gensicke. Inheritances, pledges, and exchange transactions led to ever-new divisions and changing ownership structures within the strongly branching Leiningen line. By the end of the 18th century, the castle belonged to the New Leiningen, who retained possession even after the main settlement of claims in 1803. It was only when Countess Seraphine Franziska Barbara Christine passed away in 1874, that the Nassau branch of the New Leiningen line died out, and ownership and the family name in the lordship of Westerburg came to the Old Leiningen line.
The northeastern corner and the northern front of the complex are likely the oldest sections still existing today. They include the castle chapel and probably date back to the early 13th century. The building housing the large hall was completed between 1476 and 1483.
The remaining parts of the complex that exist today are from the 18th century.
Until the late 20th century, the castle was owned by the Leiningen-Westerburg family. After World War I, it was used by the Federal Youth Association as a recreational home and youth hostel, and a weaving shop was also established.
After 1933, it housed a "land training camp" and was used during the war as a children's home as part of the children's land relocation. After 1948, the castle continued to serve as a recreational home for children. In 1962, the "Life Evening Movement" established a retirement home.
Finally, Count Konrad sold it to a private individual.
Westerburg Castle is now privately owned and houses MediCastle, a dental institute with training center and dental practice.
The castle is connected to the 3-Church Walking Path. You can reach it on foot via Graf-Konrad-Street, up the hill and past the castle church. There are limited parking spaces in front of the castle and the castle church.
Westerburg Castle is the landmark of the town.
Contact and directions
Moritz Lachmann56457 Westerburg
Contact
(0049)2663- 911401
info@schlosswesterburg.de
Related links
http://schlosswesterburg.de
