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Regenstein Castle today

Germany · Ruin

Regenstein Castle

Burg Regenstein

Regenstein Castle (Burg Regenstein) is a medieval hill castle sited atop a high rocky crag in the Harz region of Germany. The site consists of an irregular plateau fortified by curtain walls and a number of towers and courtyard buildings; it survives today as a ruin. The ruin crowns steep, jagged cliffs that fall to the surrounding valley farmland.

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Photograph via Wikimedia Commons

Its prime

1400

Today

Ruin

As it stood in 1400

What Regenstein Castle looked like in its prime.

Perched on a jagged rocky crag, the castle occupies an irregular flat summit encircled by stone curtain walls pierced by several round and rectangular towers. Sheer, stratified cliff faces drop away from the plateau on multiple sides; paths and terraces cut into the rock lead up to the gates. Within the walls are low roofed buildings clustered against the inner curtain, stairways and narrow slit windows in the towers, and an open central bailey visible from below.

Its story

The story of Regenstein Castle.

A Count of Regenstein, Conrad, son of Count Poppo I of Blankenburg of the House of Reginbodonen, is first mentioned in 1162. Built in the early and high Middle Ages on a 294-metre sandstone rock towering over the surrounding country, the castle was once counted relatively impregnable; several rooms carved into the rock survive, along with the ruins of the keep and remnants of a more recent fortress around them.

The castle owes its renown chiefly to Count Albert II of Regenstein (1310–1349), whose disputes in the 1330s with the surrounding towns, the Bishop of Halberstadt and the Abbess of Quedlinburg were romantically recounted in Gottfried August Bürger's ballad Der Raubgraf, "The Robber Count", and in Julius Wolff's novel of the same name. In the 15th century the Regenstein counts moved to Blankenburg Castle, and the male line ended with Count John Ernest of Regenstein in 1599.

In 1643, after several changes of ownership, Regenstein was enfeoffed by Archduke Leopold William of Austria, as Bishop of Halberstadt, to the Lower Bavarian count William of Tattenbach, whose family took the title Count of Reinstein-Tattenbach. After John Erasmus, Count of Reinstein-Tattenbach, was beheaded in Austria in 1671 for his part in the magnate conspiracy, Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg confiscated the county. The ruin now hosts an annual knights' tournament and garrison festival.

Step inside

7 places to explore in 1400.

The record describes 7 distinct spots at Regenstein Castle, including 3 interiors: summit inner bailey (central courtyard), cylindrical tower and interior levels, rock-cut galleries and lower cliff chambers. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.

Valley approach looking up to the castleMain gate and rock-cut entranceSummit inner bailey (central courtyard)Curtain wall walk and battlementsCylindrical tower and interior levelsRock-cut galleries and lower cliff chambersView from the battlements over the surrounding countryside

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Castle Siege

Play Castle Siege at Regenstein Castle.

A strategy game played on Regenstein Castle’s real ground plan: the same surveyed walls shown in the archive below. Post your finite garrison on the battlements between assaults, then hold out as rams, siege towers, trebuchets and sappers arrive in ever-worse waves.

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Whose castle

Clans who held Regenstein Castle.

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

  • Regenstein

    Seat of the counts of Regenstein, first recorded 1162; the male line ended in 1599.

  • Tattenbach

    Enfeoffed to Count William of Tattenbach in 1643; confiscated from the family after 1671.

From the archive

Regenstein Castle on paper: the measured plan and period views.

The survey plan and photographs below are the ground truth this page's reconstructions are checked against, drawn and photographed while the castle was still a working garrison. Every image is public-domain or openly licensed, with its source named.

Burg Regenstein, Regenstein Castle

Burg Regenstein

· Deutsche Fotothek (via Europeana)

Public domain

Burg Regenstein, Regenstein Castle

Burg Regenstein

· Deutsche Fotothek (via Europeana)

Public domain

Regenstein Castle, Regenstein Castle

Regenstein Castle

· Deutsche Fotothek (via Europeana)

Public domain

Questions about Regenstein Castle

What is the history of Regenstein Castle?

Regenstein Castle has a medieval history as the seat of the counts of Regenstein before becoming a Prussian fortress. Conrad, Count of Regenstein, was first mentioned in 1162, and the castle became renowned through Count Albert II’s disputes in the 1330s. The counts moved to Blankenburg Castle in the 15th century, after which Regenstein fell into disrepair. From 1671, the Prussians expanded it into a fortress.

What is inside Regenstein Castle?

Inside Regenstein Castle are a summit inner bailey, rock-cut galleries and lower cliff chambers. Several rooms carved into the rock have survived, along with ruins of the keep and a cylindrical tower with interior levels. The fortress remains also include cavernous rock rooms, casemates and a main gate; the rock-cut spaces include an exhibition of archaeological finds.

Why was Regenstein Castle built, and what was it used for?

Regenstein Castle was built as a defensible medieval hill castle on a high sandstone rock, and its later military role continued as a fortress. It was once considered relatively impregnable, while the Prussians expanded the medieval castle into a larger fortification from 1671. The fortress became a garrison in 1677 and was later made unusable after its capture in 1758.

Where is Regenstein Castle?

Regenstein Castle is in the Harz region, just under three kilometres north of Blankenburg. It stands on the sandstone Regenstein massif in Saxony-Anhalt, within the Harz area. The castle site is on a high rock that rises steeply above the surrounding Harz foreland, with the Regenstein Mill below the ruin.

When was Regenstein Castle built?

Regenstein Castle was built in the early and high Middle Ages. The first-raised year is not recorded, but Conrad, Count of Regenstein, was first mentioned in 1162. The medieval castle was later enlarged in stages into a fortress, including a major extension of its outer perimeter by 1742.

Was Regenstein Castle ever attacked or besieged?

Regenstein Castle was taken by the French on 12 September 1757 and recaptured by the Prussians five months later, on 12 February 1758. After retaking the fortress, the Prussians made it unusable and blew up the powder magazine near the top. The supplied history does not describe an earlier medieval siege or the outcome of a medieval assault.

Which family or clan held Regenstein Castle?

The Regenstein family held Regenstein Castle from the first recorded Count of Regenstein in 1162 until the male line ended with Count John Ernest of Regenstein in 1599. Count William of Tattenbach received Regenstein as a fief in 1643. The county was confiscated from the Tattenbach family after John Erasmus, Count of Reinstein-Tattenbach, was beheaded in 1671.

What did Regenstein Castle look like in its prime?

In its prime, Regenstein Castle was a stone castle on a jagged sandstone crag, with an irregular plateau enclosed by curtain walls. Round and rectangular towers pierced the walls, while steep, stratified cliff faces fell away on several sides. Low roofed buildings clustered against the inner curtain, with stairways and narrow slit windows in the towers.

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

Regenstein Castle is a ruin today. Only parts of the medieval castle survive, including several rooms carved into the rock and remnants of the keep. The surrounding remains also include parts of the later fortress, such as casemates, rock-cut facilities and the restored gateway; much of the larger fortification was made unusable after the Prussian recapture in 1758.

Can you visit Regenstein Castle?

Regenstein Castle can be visited as a tourist destination and ruin. Tourist use began with the opening of the first restaurant in 1812, and the site remains a popular excursion destination. A knight’s tournament and a garrison festival are held there each year, and it is included as checkpoint No. 80 in the Harzer Wandernadel hiking trail network.

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