Falkenstein Castle ruins

The remnants of the once majestic Falkenstein Castle sit on a former volcanic vent towering up almost vertically above the village. The castle was first mentioned in a document in 1135.

In 1233, Philipp IV von Bolanden founded the Falkenstein branch of the famous imperial ministerialis. Under the Hohenstaufen dynasty, he provided support to the Office of the Imperial Seneschal. In 1257, King Richard of Cornwall awarded him the Office of the Imperial Chamber and he guarded the imperial treasures at Trifels Castle.

In 1397, King Wenceslas made Philipp von Falkenstein an earl and granted him further privileges. Following the death of Archbishop Werner von Trier in 1418, the last of the Falkensteins, the Counts von Virneburg followed as heirs, from whom Wirich von Daun-Oberstein acquired the highly indebted castle and countship in 1456.

Wirich moved in the highest circles, represented the Palatine Count as the Electoral Palatinate viceroy in Amberg (Upper Palatinate), mined iron and copper ore and founded the new sites for iron and copper smelting.

His son Melchior established a "perpetual mass every Saturday in the St. Katharina Chapel in front of Falkenstein Castle" in 1499. He is commemorated by the legendary stone bearing the inscription "wie du willt melchior" ("as you wish, Melchior").

His son Wirich, who served as colonel during the siege of the Anabaptists in Münster in 1535, completely redesigned the castle complex from 1536 onwards as a defensive complex with a bastion tower at the front, a reinforced shield wall and underground defence passages, with new service buildings and contemporary furnishing of the representation rooms in a Renaissance style.

Wirich accompanied Duchess Anna von Kleve on her bridal journey to King Henry VIII of England in the winter of 1539 with a entourage of 263 people and 283 horses.

Emperor Friedrich III enfeoffed Duke Johann of Lorraine with lordship over Falkenstein in 1458. In 1667, the last count, Wilhelm Wirich, Lord of Daun-Oberstein, sold the property to the Duke of Lorraine. In 1736, Duke Franz Stephan married Maria Theresia of Habsburg, the future empress. This is how the county of Falkenstein came to be the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. As Crown Prince, their son Joseph II travelled outside the states of the House of Austria incognito as the "Count of Falkenstein".

In 1647, French troops blew up the castle, and it subsequently became a garrison of Lorraine troops.
In 1654, Falkenstein's subjects overpowered the Lorraine occupation and shot their commander Weingart.

The castle was probably irrecoverably destroyed by troops of the Electoral Palatinate during the "Wildfang" conflict that took place between 1664 and 1666. Nevertheless, many parts of the castle (e.g. the shield wall, cistern, bastion towers, outer wall of the palace) remain intact.
The castle area has been handed over to the local community in 1996. Extensive renovation works were carried out in 1978 and 1984 by the Donnersberg district, and the open-air stage was opened in 1993. Today, the ruins and their surroundings offer a picturesque backdrop for events such as the annual Christmas market and the Falkenstein summer tours.

Falkenstein appears for the first time in 891 as "falconolai" together with several new settlements and the central "winidowilare", a turning village, which is now known as Winnweiler.

In 1019, the crag of Falkenstein is mentioned, but the village receives no further mention. With the foundation of the Reichsburg Castle around 1125, the hamlet of Falkenstein probably also emerged and from then on shared its fate with the imposing castle complex. A circular wall once protected the small community at the foot of the castle. A through road winds its way through the tranquil village with a gradient of more than 25% in places, making it probably the steepest through road in Germany. Falkenstein belongs to the Winnweiler Associated Community Administration and is part of the Donnersberg district, high up in the Palatinate.

(Text: Stefan Weber)

Opening times

Open year-round

Price:

The grounds of the castle ruins are freely accessible.