Bilstein Castle (german: Burg Bilstein) is a

hill castle A hill castle or mountain castle is a castle built on a natural feature that stands above the surrounding terrain. It is a term derived from the German ''Höhenburg'' used in categorising castle sites by their topographical location. Hill castles ...

in the

Sauerland The Sauerland () is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited. The Sauerland is the largest tourist region in ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It is located in the eponymous quarter of Bilstein in the town of

Lennestadt Lennestadt (occasionally also ''die Lennestadt'') lies in the Sauerland in southeast North Rhine-Westphalia and is a community in Olpe district. It is the district's most populous municipality. Lennestadt itself is not an actual town but a commun ...

. Since 1927 the building has been a

youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ba ...

Origin of the name

The word ''Bilstein'' (and linguistically related terms such as ''Beilstein, Bielstein'' etc.) is not uncommon as a field and place name. According to Förstemann, it means something like '' "a steeply towering or prominent rock". '' This description certainly applies to the promontory of Bilstein's castle hill. Thus, presumably the name was transferred from the hill, which is made of

keratophyre Keratophyre is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. Although similar to trachyte, keratophyre's plagioclase component is richer in sodium than the plagioclase found in trachyte. Keratophyre forms lava flows and subvolcanic intrusions ( dy ...

(green volcanic rock), to the castle and adjacent settlement. Other explanations relate the name to a hunting place, an idol or the Old High German word ''billi'' for "sword".

Castle site

Bilstein is a

spur castle A spur castle is a type of medieval fortification that is sited on a spur of a hill or mountain for defensive purposes. Ideally, it would be protected on three sides by steep hillsides; the only vulnerable side being that where the spur joins the ...

on an extension of the nearby hill of Rosenberg. This hill spur falls away steeply on three sides so that the castle's defences only needed to be oriented towards the hill to the northeast. The appearance of the castle is thus dominated by its two round towers, each with a diameter of about eight metres: the Chapel Tower in the northwest and the Hohnekamp TowerTheo Hundt: ''Bilstein im Laufe der Jahrhunderte.'' In: Günther Becker, Hans Mieles: Bilstein Land, Burg und Ort, pp. 185ff., Lennestadt, 1975 in the southeast. The towers are connected by a tunnel under the castle

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

, above ground is a 20th century archway. The northwestern wing of the

main ward The inner bailey or inner ward of a castle is the strongly fortified enclosure at the heart of a medieval castle.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 22. It is protected by the outer w ...

and the central block in the southwest are historical structures. By contrast, the wing in the southeast was built in 1978 to expand the hostel. On the valley side of the central block is a portal terrace (''Söller'') on which a prominent lime tree is growing. Today a brick bridge spans the

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

between the inner and outer baileys. The moat has been partly filled-in and is about 15 metres wide. The outer bailey comprises three buildings, which are referred to as the gatehouse, timber-framed house and festival hall.

References

Literature

* Günther Becker und Hans Mieles: ''Bilstein – Land, Burg und Ort''. Book celebrating the 750th anniversary of Bilstein Castle, Lennestadt, 1975. * Günther Becker: ''Führer durch Bilstein und Umgebung'', Verkehrsverein Bilstein-Kirchveischede e.V., 1968. * Günther Becker: ''Wanderführer Jugendherberge Bilstein'', Jugendherbergswerk Westfalen-Lippe, Hagen, 1968. * Herbert Evers: ''Bilstein und seine Umgebung'', F. X. Rügenberg, Olpe, 1950. * Albert Kleffmann: ''Festbuch zur Siebenhundertjahrfeier der Schlossfreiheit u. Herrschaft Bilstein – Westfalen, 1925'', published by order of the festival committee, Bilstein, 1925. * Uwe Lobbedey: ''Burg Bilstein'' (''Westfälische Kunststätten'', Issue 19), Münster, 1982 * Christiane Mirgel: '' Jugendburg Bilstein 1947–1954 – Der Weg in die Demokratie'', Herausgeber: der Oberkreisdirektor des Kreises Olpe, Kreisarchiv, Olpe, 1992, ISSN 0177-8153.

External links

Bilstein Youth Hostel
{{Authority control Hill castles Heritage sites in North Rhine-Westphalia Castles in North Rhine-Westphalia County of Mark Olpe (district)