Germany · Partial ruin
Ehrenburg
The Ehrenburg is a medieval spur castle above the Ehrbach valley near Brodenbach in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Built from the 12th century and altered over later centuries, it was partly blown up in 1689 and today survives as a preserved ruin used for cultural events.
Its prime
1687
Today
Partial ruin
As it stood in 1687
What Ehrenburg looked like in its prime.
A compact spur-castle silhouette dominated by a tall cylindrical bergfried with a corbelled machicolated band and crenellated parapet, set on a rocky outcrop above a wooded valley. Thick, rounded curtain walls of dark grey slate-rubble masonry enclose a small upper bailey with slate-roofed domestic buildings and a visible timber-framed house. A timber bridge and stone gatehouse provide the entrance; banners and heraldic shields decorate the battlements at the castle's height.
Its story
The story of Ehrenburg.
The Ehrenburg crowns a rocky spur above the Ehrbach valley near Brodenbach, a site probably owned by the church in Trier in the early Middle Ages as a place of refuge and defence. Its likely builders, the lords of Ehrenberg — vassals of the Cologne and Trier churches and the Rhenish counts palatine — first appear as witnesses in 1189. The castle guarded the Moselle crossing between Brodenbach and Hatzenport and was the fortified heart of a small imperial barony with estates between the Lower Moselle and Middle Rhine.
By the treaty known as the Eltz Atonement, the knights recognised the sovereignty of the Electorate of Trier in return for burgrave status and hereditary peerage. After the male line of the Ehrenbergs died out in the late 14th century, the castle was no longer the long-term residence of hereditary castellans: Cuno of Pyrmont and of Ehrenberg followed in 1426, Philipp Eltz in 1526, the lords of Quadt of Landskron in 1561 and the House of Hoensbroech in 1621.
The last imperial knight and castellan, Freiherr Benedict of Clodt, lived in the late 18th century mainly at the Ehrenberger Hof in Koblenz, and in 1798 the castle passed to the Lord of Stein. Partly blown up in 1689, the Ehrenburg survives as a preserved ruin and cultural monument that hosts numerous events.
Step inside
9 places to explore in 1687.
The record describes 9 distinct spots at Ehrenburg — including 2 interiors: rectangular residential tower house (upper bailey), chapel (interior). Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Create History
Recreate Ehrenburg with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1687 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate this castle →Whose castle
Clans who held Ehrenburg.
The families that held Ehrenburg for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Ehrenberg
Seat of the lords of Ehrenberg, first recorded 1189, until the male line died out in the late 14th century.
Pyrmont
Held from 1426 by Cuno of Pyrmont and of Ehrenberg.
Eltz
Held from 1526 by Philipp Eltz.
Quadt
Held by the lords of Quadt of Landskron from 1561.
Hoensbroech
Held by the House of Hoensbroech from 1621.
