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Hohenecken Castle today

Germany · Ruin

Hohenecken Castle

Burg Hohenecken

Hohenecken Castle is the ruined spur castle on the Schlossberg above Hohenecken (now part of Kaiserslautern) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Built in the Hohenstaufen era, it retains a prominent pentagonal bergfried and a massive shield wall and is considered a good example of 13th-century castle architecture.

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Photograph via Wikimedia Commons

Its prime

1200

Today

Ruin

As it stood in 1200

What Hohenecken Castle looked like in its prime.

Perched on a wooded, steep Schlossberg, the castle reads as a compact complex of red-brown sandstone: a long, 25-metre-wide shield wall with narrow slit openings faces the slope, behind which rise curtain walls and a tall, five-sided (pentagonal) bergfried tower. The walls are mostly solid, roofless battlements and masonry, with the bergfried dominating the silhouette. The site includes an upper and lower ward and an outer bailey with a rock-cut moat at the hill base.

Its story

The story of Hohenecken Castle.

Hohenecken Castle is the ruin of a Hohenstaufen-era spur castle on the Schlossberg above Hohenecken, now a ward of Kaiserslautern, at 363 metres above sea level. In the first half of the 13th century the castle was enfeoffed to a Kaiserslautern family of ministeriales, the descendants of the knight Reinhard of Lautern.

Including the outer ward, moat, and upper and lower wards, the castle measures about 50 by 9 metres. Its defences centre on a mighty shield wall, 25 metres wide and 11 metres high, and a pentagonal bergfried; experts consider it one of the best examples of castle-building from the Hohenstaufen period.

Step inside

6 places to explore in 1200.

The record describes 6 distinct spots at Hohenecken Castle, including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.

Exterior approach from the valleyBase of the shield wallExterior of the pentagonal bergfriedView from the bergfried summitUpper ward courtyardOuter ward and moat

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The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1200, a photoreal reconstruction that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.

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Whose castle

Clans who held Hohenecken Castle.

The families that held Hohenecken Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.

  • Lautern

    Enfeoffed in the first half of the 13th century to the descendants of the knight Reinhard of Lautern, a Kaiserslautern family of ministeriales.

Questions about Hohenecken Castle

What is the history of Hohenecken Castle?

Hohenecken Castle was built in the Hohenstaufen era, probably around 1200. In the first half of the 13th century it was enfeoffed to the descendants of the knight Reinhard of Lautern, a Kaiserslautern family of ministeriales. Rebellious peasants captured it in 1525; a siege by Charles Louis of the Palatinate in 1668 partly destroyed it, and French troops blew it up in 1689.

What is inside Hohenecken Castle?

Inside Hohenecken Castle, visitors can see the upper ward courtyard, the lower ward and the outer bailey with its rock-cut moat. The surviving complex also includes curtain walls, the base and exterior of the pentagonal bergfried, and the summit viewpoint. No furnished rooms or roofed interiors are described.

Where is Hohenecken Castle?

Hohenecken Castle is on the Schlossberg above Hohenecken, a ward of Kaiserslautern in Rhineland-Palatinate. The ruin stands on a steep spur at about 363 metres above sea level. Hohenecken and the castle are now within the city of Kaiserslautern.

When was Hohenecken Castle built?

Hohenecken Castle was built around 1200, in the Hohenstaufen era. Its exact foundation date is unknown: older sources place construction soon after 1156, while more recent findings favour a beginning about 50 years later. The pentagonal bergfried and massive shield wall support the date around 1200.

Was Hohenecken Castle ever attacked or besieged?

Hohenecken Castle was attacked several times and fell on each recorded occasion. Rebellious peasants captured it during the German Peasants’ War in 1525. Prince-Elector Charles Louis of the Palatinate took it after a lengthy siege in 1668, and French troops blew it up during the War of the Palatine Succession in 1689.

Which family or clan held Hohenecken Castle?

Hohenecken Castle was held by the descendants of the knight Reinhard of Lautern. They were a Kaiserslautern family of ministeriales, and the castle was enfeoffed to them in the first half of the 13th century. The family later took the name von Hohenecken.

What did Hohenecken Castle look like in its prime?

In its prime, Hohenecken Castle was a compact red-brown sandstone fortress on a steep, wooded spur. A 25-metre-wide shield wall with narrow slit openings faced the slope, while curtain walls and a tall, five-sided bergfried formed the main silhouette. The complex had upper and lower wards, an outer bailey and a rock-cut moat.

Is Hohenecken Castle still standing, or is it a ruin?

Hohenecken Castle is a ruin. It retains the prominent pentagonal bergfried, the massive shield wall, curtain walls and the remains of its upper and lower wards and outer bailey. The castle declined from the beginning of the early modern period, was partly destroyed in 1668 and finally blown up in 1689.

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