Our Day-Trip to Hardenburg Castle!
Together with Lichtenburg Castle, Hardenburg Castle
is one of the largest castle ruins in the province. The buildings
are terraced up a mountain spur, dominating a narrow defile in the
Isenach valley, just before it opens out into the Rhine valley. The
history of the castle is very closely linked with that of the Counts
of Leiningen to whome it belonged from the time of its foundation down
to the French Revolution. Originally sub-counts under the Salic emperors,
the Leiningens inherited the guardian bailick over the neighbouring
Benedictine monastery of Limburg from them in 1205. Without any delay,
they began to build the castle within the monastery's teritory and on
its property causing it to protest against the move. But finally the monastery
had to give way and relinquished all claim to the building in 1249. From
1317 on, Hardenburg Castle was the seat of the younger line of the family
of counts, namely the Counts of Leiningen-Hardenburg. It was only abandoned
in favour of the Baroque town palace in Bad Durkheim in 1725, but continued
to be inhabited. Destruction was not until 1794 by French revolutionary
troops.
In order to get to Castle Hardenburg, we had to
take a hiking trail that took us through the village and up the side
of the mountain. Most villages have some sort of a hiking trail. The
Germans love to walk! Loosely translated, Burgruine Hardenburg means
"Castle Ruins of Hardenburg"
Once we reached the top, this sign told us the
castle was built between (Erbaut zwischen) 1206 and 1214. It also told us
the hours the castle is open for visitors. It cost €4.80 for all of us to
get in.
