Germany · Partial ruin
Werdenfels Castle
Burg Werdenfels
Werdenfels Castle is a medieval spur castle ruin on an eastern spur of the Kramerspitz above the Loisach valley near Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Upper Bavaria. The site retains substantial curtain walls, the north wall of the palas and remains of outer wards and a central gate; it was used as an administrative centre until the early 17th century and is now a popular ruin and viewpoint.
Its prime
1600
Today
Partial ruin
As it stood in 1600
What Werdenfels Castle looked like in its prime.
Perched on an eastern rocky spur about 80 metres above the Loisach valley, the castle in its prime is an approximately square inner ward (27.6 × 24.8 m) of pale local limestone with two outer wards to the north and west. A bergfried rose at the northwestern corner; the palas runs along the north side, its ground floor pierced by three large pointed arches. Curtain walls with a central gate (Mittertor) and a shallow neck ditch to the south and west enclose the site.
Its story
The story of Werdenfels Castle.
The ruins of Werdenfels stand on a spur about 80 metres above the Loisach valley between Garmisch and Farchant. In 1294 Count Berthold III of Eschenlohe gave the Bishopric part of his county and was appointed castle guardian, and the castle served as the administrative centre of the County of Werdenfels, its tower doubling as a gaol in the 15th and 16th centuries, though not all governors took up residence there.
In its last phase the castle was more administrative seat than fortress: its walls average only about 90 centimetres thick, the main direction of attack lacked flanking towers, and the castle researcher Otto Piper noted that it "conspicuously lacks the positions and facilities for a sustained defence". As its condition deteriorated the governor's seat was moved in 1632 to a new building on the Wang, and the bergfried was completely demolished around 1728–30.
In 1822 the Bavarian privy councillor Ignaz von Rudhart acquired the ruins, which have been privately owned ever since. Built of local limestone quarried in the Schlosswald above the site, where six ring-shaped lime kilns were excavated in 1997, the freely accessible ruin is now a popular hiking destination with views of Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Wetterstein Mountains.
Step inside
11 places to explore in 1600.
The record describes 11 distinct spots at Werdenfels Castle, including 1 interior: north wall of the palas. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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