Rhein-Lahn District

Rhine Castles and Ruins

This collection features architectural landmarks along the Rhine and Lahn rivers within the Rhein-Lahn-Kreis district. Highlights include the uniquely positioned Pfalzgrafenstein toll castle on an island, the well-preserved Marksburg, and the Neo-Gothic Stolzenfels Palace. The sites range from medieval ruins like Sporkenburg to Baroque transformations such as Schloss Oranienstein, reflecting the region's strategic importance for trade and territorial defense from the 12th through the 19th centuries.

Rhine Castles and Ruins — Map

Leo van den Bergh / CC BY-SA 4.0

A

Stolzenfels Castle

Stolzenfels Castle is a former medieval fortress castle turned into a palace, near Koblenz on the left bank of the Rhine, in the state of…

Tobi 87 / CC BY-SA 3.0

B

Marksburg

The Marksburg is a castle above the town of Braubach in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Hermann Luyken / CC0

C

Pfalzgrafenstein Castle

Pfalzgrafenstein Castle is a toll castle on the Falkenau island, otherwise known as Pfalz Island in the River Rhine near Kaub, Germany.

UnknownUnknown author / Public domain

D

Lahneck Castle

Lahneck Castle is a medieval fortress located in the city of Lahnstein in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, south of Koblenz.

Rainer Lippert / CC BY-SA 3.0

E

Rheinfels Castle

Rheinfels Castle is a castle ruin located above the left bank of the Rhine in Sankt Goar, Germany.

PhilEOS / CC BY-SA 4.0

F

Burg Balduinstein

Medieval rock castle ruins built in 1319 by Balduin of Luxembourg, Archbishop of Trier, to secure territorial claims against the Counts of Nassau.

Leo van den Bergh / CC BY-SA 4.0

G

Martinsburg

14th-century castle in Lahnstein, originally established as a toll station for the Archbishops of Mainz, featuring a distinctive hexagonal tower.

Michael Pabst / CC BY-SA 3.0 de

H

Stein'sches Schloss

Baroque town palace in Nassau, known as the ancestral seat of the Prussian reformer Baron vom Stein.

Gabriele Delhey / CC-BY-SA-3.0

I

Schönburg

The Schönburg is a castle above the medieval town of Oberwesel in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, …

RThiele / CC BY-SA 3.0

J

Schloss Liebeneck

Late 16th-century hunting lodge situated on a ridge above Osterspai, later redesigned in the 19th century.

Sir Gawain / CC-BY-SA-3.0

K

Liebenstein Castle

Liebenstein Castle is a castle above the village of Kamp-Bornhofen in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Holger Weinandt / CC BY-SA 3.0 de

L

Burg Osterspai

Former 14th-century moated castle in Osterspai, characterized by its well-preserved medieval residential tower and timber-framed additions.

M

Grafenschloss Diez

High medieval castle in Diez, serving as a former residence for the House of Nassau-Diez and later functioning as a penitentiary.

N

Schloss Oranienstein

Baroque palace built on the foundations of a 12th-century Benedictine monastery, serving as an ancestral seat for the House of Orange-Nassau.

Peter Weller / CC-BY-SA-3.0

O

Sterrenberg Castle

Sterrenberg Castle is a castle above the village of Kamp-Bornhofen in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Marion Halft / CC BY-SA 4.0

P

Alteburg Singhofen (Ruine)

Archaeological remains of a Celtic hillfort dating from the Hallstatt culture, featuring a prehistoric wall and ditch system.

Wolkenkratzer / CC BY-SA 3.0

Q

Sporkenburg

The Sporkenburg is a late medieval castle ruin about one kilometre south of Eitelborn in the district of Westerwaldkreis in the German…

Alexander Hoernigk / CC BY-SA 3.0

R

Burg Schwalbach

Late medieval hilltop castle built in the 1370s, notable for its 40-meter-high circular keep and imposing residential buildings.

MacElch / CC BY-SA 3.0

S

Burg Hohlenfels

14th-century rock castle built on a steep limestone cliff, featuring a shield wall and a preserved residential building.

MacElch (Rainer Kunze) / CC-BY-SA-3.0

T

Schloss Langenau

Former water castle near the Lahn river, featuring a Romanesque residential tower and remnants of its medieval curtain walls.