Rieneck Castle
Rieneck Castle | |
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Burg Rieneck | |
Rieneck Castle | |
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General information | |
Type | Castle |
Town or city | Rieneck |
Country | Germany |
Coordinates | 50°05′38″N 9°38′46″E / 50.094°N 9.646°E |
Owner | Verband Christlicher Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder |
Rieneck Castle (German: Burg Rieneck) is a castle built by Ludwig I, Count of Loon and Rieneck, in the year 1151. It is located in the town of Rieneck, about 80 km east of Frankfurt, Germany. The castle today serves as a scouting facility and is owned by the German Christian Guide and Scout Association, VCP. The castle's programme includes scouting activities such as arts and crafts, pioneering and Medieval trades and offers accommodation and a campsite.
History
In 1150 Ludwig I, Count of Loon and Rieneck, ordered the building of the "castrum Rinecke" on the North-East boundary of his territory, with the aim of safeguarding the lands of this important aristocratic family against the neighbouring lordships of Mainz, Würzburg and Fulda.[1] The little hill in the Sinn Valley offered excellent conditions: there was only one direction where the castle required additional protection by a defensive ditch, and offered as narrow a front as possible to attack. The latter can be clearly seen in the ground plan of the keep, the 19m high "Thick Tower", which is outwardly an irregular, seven sided polygon, whose tip points towards the nearby hill. The castle complex initially consisted simply of a courtyard surrounded by defensive walls, and the keep, with its 4–8 m thick walls. Inside the walls halftimbered buildings were constructed as living quarters, store rooms, and stalls. Of this only what we now know as the 'arched cellar' survives.
See also
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rieneck Castle. |
- The official homepage of Rieneck Castle (German)
- Rieneck Castle on the website of the Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte (German)
Coordinates: 50°05′40″N 9°38′46″E / 50.09444°N 9.64611°EReference
- ↑ "History - Burg Rieneck". www.burg-rieneck.de. Retrieved 2016-09-21.