Burgruine Lemberg

The Lemberg Castle is located on a rise at the outskirts of the municipality of Lemberg (Pfalz). The route description within the village is actually easy to follow. There are plenty of parking spaces available; only the last stretch has to be covered on foot by the visitor.

The castle hill, already settled in Celtic and Roman times, was acquired in 1198 by Count Heinrich I of Zweibrücken from the Monastery of Hornbach. Heinrich and his successors gradually had castle buildings erected on the summit, which were managed by castellans on their behalf. Disputes with the neighboring Dukes of Lorraine were likely a direct consequence. In 1269, Duke Friedrich II of Lorraine granted Count Heinrich II of Zweibrücken half of Lemberg, which led to a joint rule between Lorraine and Zweibrücken in the following period.

After Heinrich's death in 1282, his sons Walram and Eberhard divided the county. Eberhard, who was also granted expansive lands along with Lemberg, called himself, after acquiring the lordship of Bitsch in 1297, Count of Zweibrücken, Lord of Bitsch.

As subsequent lords of the castle, the brothers Hanemann I and Simon Wecker should be mentioned, followed by Hanemann II and Friedrich I.

After the death of Friedrich I in 1476, the county of Zweibrücken-Bitsch was divided among the four sons of the count; Lemberg fell to Friedrich II.

After his death in 1500, his possessions passed to his nephew Reinhard, who then became the sole lord of the county. Under Count Jakob I, who celebrated his wedding to Katharina von Hohenstein in Lemberg in 1536, the castle was converted into a grand Renaissance palace and was used as the main residence at least since 1541. After the count's death, the estate passed in 1570 to Philipp V of Hanau-Lichtenberg.

Inheritance and religious disputes between Hanau-Lichtenberg and Lorraine, as well as the Counts of Leiningen-Westerburg, led to the occupation of the castle by troops of Duke Karl III of Lorraine in 1572. After the withdrawal of the Lorraine troops in 1604/6, the castle was in such poor structural condition that extensive restoration became necessary. Lemberg was also occupied during the Thirty Years' War. In 1634/35, imperial soldiers were garrisoned at the fortress, and in 1636, it was damaged by roaming cavalry units.

The structure, which was only hastily patched up after the war, was destroyed in the course of the Palatinate War of Succession in 1689 by French soldiers under the command of General Montclar. Since the 17th century, it had served the population of the surrounding villages as a quarry; with official permission, it provided building materials for the new construction of the Lemberg Church in 1646. Only through recent excavations have parts of the lower castle and the extremely peculiar well system been uncovered.

Access: Count Heinrich Path

Opening times

The castle is accessible year-round.

Opening hours of the castle information center:

In summer: Saturday and Sunday 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM
In winter: Saturday and Sunday 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Admission is free!