Hardenstein Castle (german: Burg Hardenstein) is a ruined castle in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

, Germany. The remains lie east of

Herbede Since 1975 the former city of Herbede is a part of the city of Witten (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). As one of the eight boroughs of Witten, it is now called Witten-Herbede. Before the incorporation with Witten in 1975, Herbede was a city in the ...

on the Ruhr River, surrounded by mountains, and are not easily accessible. Nearby ruins show that the castle was once part of an important mining centre, probably dating to the Middle Ages; the earliest records, from the 16th century, support this. The castle features in the legend of the

Nibelung The term Nibelung (German) or Niflungr (Old Norse) is a personal or clan name with several competing and contradictory uses in Germanic heroic legend. It has an unclear etymology, but is often connected to the root ''nebel'', meaning mist. The te ...

s.Parent 67. The castle's association with mining led to a legend that

King Goldemar King Goldemar (also spelled Goldmar, Vollmar, and Volmar) is a dwarf or kobold from Germanic mythology and folklore. By the Middle Ages, Goldemar had become the king of the dwarfs in German belief.Wägner and MacDowall 40. In the fairy tale "The ...

, a dwarf or kobold, dwelled there. One version of the story, recorded by

Thomas Keightley Thomas Keightley (17 October 1789 – 4 November 1872) was an Irish writer known for his works on mythology and folklore, particularly ''Fairy Mythology'' (1828), later reprinted as ''The World Guide to Gnomes, Fairies, Elves, and Other Little ...

in 1850, says that King Goldemar lived with Neveling von Hardenberg at the castle. For three years, he brought the inhabitants good luck until a curious man tried to see his footprints by casting tares and ashes about. Goldemar cut the man up, roasted his body, boiled his head and legs, and ate him. He was gone the next day, vowing through a note that the house would be as unlucky as it had been lucky while he lived there.Keightley 256.

Notes

References

* Keightley, Thomas (1850). ''The Fairy Mythology, Illustrative of the Romance and Superstition of Various Countries''. London: H. G. Bohn. * Parent, Thomas (2000). ''Das Ruhrgebiet: Vom >goldenen< Mittelalter zur Industriekultur''. Mair Dumont Dumont. . Castles in North Rhine-Westphalia Ruined castles in Germany County of Mark Lowland castles {{NorthRhineWestphalia-struct-stub