The castles of Dahn (german: Dahner Burgengruppe, literally "Dahn castle group"), near the little town of
Dahn
Dahn is a municipality in the Südwestpfalz district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated in the Palatinate Forest, approximately 15 km southeast of Pirmasens, and 25 km west of Landau. It is part of the ''Verbandsgemeind ...
in the German state of
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
, consist of three
rock castle
A rock castle (german: Felsenburg) is a type of medieval castle that directly incorporates natural rock outcrops into its defences to such an extent that the rock formations define the structure of the castle. Topographically, rock castles are c ...
s:
*
Altdahn
*
Grafendahn
*
Tanstein
Geography
The so-called
Dahner Felsenland
The Dahner Felsenland, also referred to as the Dahn Rockland, is a landscape in the county of Südwestpfalz in the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is located in the middle section of the Wasgau, which in turn forms the southern ...
area of the
Wasgau
The Wasgau (german: Wasgau, french: Vasgovie) is a Franco-German hill range in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the French departments of Bas-Rhin and Moselle. It is formed from the southern part of the Palatine Forest and the north ...
, the region forming the southern part of the
Palatine Forest and the northern part of the
Vosges
The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...
, has a large number of castles and rock formations. For example, northwest of the castles at Dahn is
Neudahn Castle
The rock castle of Neudahn, in the southwestern Palatine Forest in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, is located at the northern end of an elongated ridge near the town of Dahn. The heart of the castle is situated on one of the sandstone r ...
and, close to the edge of the town, there are natural rock formations like the
Jungfernsprung
The Jungfernsprung, is a precipitous rock formation in the small German town of Dahn in the county of Südwestpfalz. The rocks tower above the town by around 70 metres and are crowned by a type of summit cross at a height of . The rocks is t ...
and the
Bride and Groom Bride and Groom may refer to:
* ''Bride and Groom'' (radio program) (1945-1950), an old-time radio program
* ''Bride and Groom'' (TV series) (1951-1958), based on the radio show
* Bride and Groom (rock formation)
* ''Bride and Groom'' (book), a ...
(''Braut und Bräutigam'').
History
The three castles were built next to one another, but not at the same time, utilizing five neighbouring rocks on a single ridge situated just under a kilometre east of Dahn. Their construction involved several generations of noble families from Dahn and lasted almost two centuries: Tanstein dates to the early 12th century; Altdahn to the early 13th century and Grafendahn to the late 13th century.
Similar castle groups
A similar arrangement of two or three castles clustered closely together may be found in several places in the south part of neighbouring
Alsatian Vosges
The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...
: the
Dreistein at
Odilienberg
, photo = Ottrott Mont Sainte-Odile.JPG
, photo_caption = Mont Sainte-Odile and the Monastery
, elevation_m = 764
, elevation_ref = Official maps of IGN available on the ''Géoportail''.
, prominence_m =
, prominence_ref=
, range = Vos ...
near
Obernai
Obernai ( Alsatian: ''Owernah''; german: Oberehnheim) commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It lies on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains.
Obernai is a rapidly growing city, its number of inhabitants havin ...
, the three castles on the
Schlossberg near
Reinhardsmunster
Reinhardsmunster () is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
See also
* Communes of the Bas-Rhin department
The following is a list of the 514 communes of the Bas-Rhin department of France.
The commune ...
, the
Drei Exen Drei may refer to:
* ''Drei'' (Glashaus album), a 2005 album by pop band Glashaus
* ''Drei'' (Emika album) (stylised form: ''DREI''), a 2015 album by electronic artist Emika
* ''Three'' (2010 film), a German film called ''Drei'' in German
* Drei ...
near
Eguisheim
Eguisheim (; german: Egisheim; Alsatian: ''Egsa'') is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It lies in the historical region of Alsace (german: Elsass). The village lies on the edge of the Ballons des Vosge ...
and the castle group of
Haut-Kœnigsbourg/
Oedenburg
Sopron (; german: Ödenburg, ; sl, Šopron) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl, Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő.
History
Ancient times-13th century
When the area that is today Western Hungary was a province of the Ro ...
.
Literature
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*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Dahner Felsenland: ''Altdahn–Grafendahn–Tanstein''
{{Coord, 49, 9, 1, N, 7, 48, 9, E, type:landmark_region:DE-RP, display=title
Rock castles
Castles in Rhineland-Palatinate
!
Heritage sites in Rhineland-Palatinate
Buildings and structures in Südwestpfalz