"Here is a valley, quite wide and beautiful.
"There shall be a town there.
In the middle - stone colossus
On it a castle will one day grow."
These lines from a poem by Friedrich Schweitzer describe the location of the city and the dominance of the castle in the cityscape. Like the railway bridge built in 1906, the castle is one of the city's landmarks.
The beginnings
Westerburg Castle, first documented in 1192, but probably built earlier, is located in the town of Westerburg and can be seen from afar coming from Limburg. It is based on a castle complex from the 12th century.
Rulers in the Middle Ages
This initially belonged to the Counts of Leiningen and came to the Lords of Runkel at the beginning of the 13th century through the marriage of Siegfried III von 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 finally separated from the House of Runkel with Heinrich I of Westerburg in 1288 at the latest:
In 1270 Heinrich I, a son of Siegfried II, took over Westerburg, while his brother received Runkel Castle. Since 1274 Heinrich named himself exclusively after the Westerburg and also included the Westerburg coat of arms in his seal: a golden cross in the red field, the corners covered with 5 golden crosses each.
The castle was considerably extended and rebuilt over time and was for a long time the residence of a branch of the Counts of Leiningen-Westerburg.
Changing ownership
This line, however, already at the end of the 16th century was completely in the hands of the Schaumburgers - so Gensicke. Successions, pledges and barter transactions led to ever new divisions and changing ownership structures within the strongly branching Leiningen line. At the end of the 18th century, the castle then belonged to the Neuleinigern family, in whose possession it remained even after the main reputation decision of 1803. Only when the Nassau branch of the Neuleiniger line died out with Countess Seraphine Franziska Barbara Christine in 1874 did the possession and the family name come to the Altleininger line in the dominion of Westerburg.
The northeast corner and the northern front of the line are probably the oldest sections still in existence today. They contain the castle chapel and probably date from the early 13th century. The building in which the great hall is located was completed between 1476 and 1483.
The other parts of the complex that exist today date from the 18th century.
The castle in the 20th century
Until the end of the 20th century the castle was owned by the Leiningen-Westerburg family. After the First World War it was used by the Bund Deutscher Jugend as a recreation home and youth hostel, and a weaving mill was also established.
After 1933 it housed a "land school camp" and was used during the war as a children's home in the context of the Children's Evacuation Program. After 1948 the castle continued to be used as a recreation home for children. In 1962, the "Lebensabendbewegung" established a home for the elderly.
Finally, Count Konrad sold it to a private person.
Today: Restaurant and training centre
Westerburg Castle is now privately owned and houses MediCastle, a dental institute with training centre and dental practice.
In addition to the wine cellar and restaurant "Semper Frey", the romantic castle garden in particular offers a charming and worthwhile destination for an excursion.
The lovingly renovated halls on the upper floor can also be used for family celebrations such as weddings and birthday parties as well as for commercial seminars. In the meantime even civil weddings are possible at the castle.
More information and contact: www.schlosswesterburg.de, info@schlosswesterburg.de, phone 02663 911401.
Tip: 3-Church-Way
The castle is connected to the 3-church hiking trail. You can reach it on foot via Graf-Konrad-Straße, up the hill, past the Seekatz bakery and the castle church. There are limited parking spaces in front of the castle and the castle church.
(Translated from DeepL.)
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
The Westerburg Castle is the landmark of the town. Here you can learn more about its eventful history. If you don't want to get married here right away, you are also well advised to come here at least for a glass of wine - in summer high up in the illuminated castle garden. The restaurant is also very atmospheric...
(Translated from DeepL.)
Contact and directions
Moritz Lachmann
56457 Westerburg
