![Burg Neuleiningen, Blick nach Süden](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Burg_Neuleiningen%2C_Blick_nach_S%C3%BCden.JPG)
Neuleiningen Castle is a
ruin
Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...
on the eastern edge of the
Palatinate Forest in the
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
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 ...
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 ...
in the
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of
Neuleiningen in the
Bad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim () is a spa town in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration, and is the seat of the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
Location
Bad Dürkheim lies at the edge of Palatinate Forest on the German Win ...
district.
It was built in 1238-41 by
Count Frederick III of Leiningen. The French destroyed it in 1690 and it has lain in ruins since that time.
Location
The castle is located on a foothill of the
Haardt on the northeastern edge of the Palatinate Forest. Its eponymous village is grouped around the castle, high above the left bank of the
Eckbach at an elevation of about 300 metres above sea level.
Near the castle is the Old Vicarage (''Alte Pfarrey''), which was first recorded in 1524 and which houses a gourmet restaurant today.
History
Its name, like that of its sister castle,
Altleiningen
Altleiningen is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
Location
The municipality lies at an e ...
five kilometres to the southwest, is derived from the
Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages
* Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany
* East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
noble family
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
, the
counts of Leiningen, who ruled the territory of
Leiningerland.
The castle was built following a division of
inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, Title (property), titles, debts, entitlements, Privilege (law), privileges, rights, and Law of obligations, obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ ...
around 1240 by
Count Frederick III of Leiningen. Together with,
Battenberg Castle, 1,400 metres to the south, the castle controlled the entrance to the Eckbach valley. Passing between various lines of the family, the castle remained the property of the Leiningens for over 200 years. In 1468, Prince-Elector
Frederick the Victorious of the Palatinate became involved in inheritance disputes amongst the Leiningens and seized possession of the castle by force. In 1508, after passing through several intermediate arrangements, an agreement was reached: the castle would be divided between the
Bishopric of Worms and the counts of
Leiningen-Westerburg.
![Neuleiningen Roux](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Neuleiningen_Roux.jpg)
In 1525, during the
Peasants' War
This is a chronological list of conflicts in which peasants played a significant role.
Background
The history of peasant wars spans over two thousand years. A variety of factors fueled the emergence of the peasant revolt phenomenon, including:
...
, the castle was opened to the rebellious farmers without a fight and, having been hosted by
Countess Eva (1481–1543) in a friendly and generous way, the farmers left without causing great damage. Local poet, Paul Münch, described this historical episode in his
Palatine poem ''Die Gräfin Eva vun Neileininge''.
[ – Mundartgedicht ] Even in
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
the castle only suffered minor damage.
During the
War of the Palatine Succession
The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarc ...
, however, invading
French troops razed the entire site in 1690. Its two owners, Leiningen-Westerburg and the Bishopric of Worms, could not agree to rebuild the castle in the period that followed – Leiningen being for, and Worms being against, the idea. In 1767, Charles of Leiningen-Westerburg finally sold the Leiningen half to Worms.
In the wake of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
the castle ruins were seized by
secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
authorities and passed in 1804 into the hands of the municipality of Neuleiningen, who, sold it just four years. In 1874, Charles Emich of Leiningen-Westerburg bought it back again for his family.
Layout
![Burg Niederleiningen Palas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Burg_Niederleiningen_Palas.JPG)
The castle is of the so-called
quadrangular type, with a rectangular ground plan and
defensive tower
A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with curtain wall (fortification), curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variet ...
s projecting beyond the
curtain walls. Contrary to earlier views, the castle was built to the same pattern as French castles of the early 13th century in the
Île-de-France
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, blank_info_sec1 = Ranked 1st
, bla ...
. However, its design was not copied from an existing castle; rather it combined a French design with local building traditions. Most striking are its four, round towers and the large number of very narrow
arrow slit
An arrowslit (often also referred to as an arrow loop, loophole or loop hole, and sometimes a balistraria) is a narrow vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows or a crossbowman can launch bolts.
The interio ...
s (''Schlitzscharten''),
[ – Test der Schlitzscharten auf Funktionalität] for
bows and
crossbow
A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fi ...
s. These ''Schlitzscharten'' are amongst the earliest examples on German soil. Thus, apart from Lahr Castle - of which little remains - Neuleiningen is the oldest quadrangular castle in Germany.
The internal elements from the first phase of construction have been totally lost and can only be made out here and there from excavations. The present remains date to the 14th to early 17th centuries. The most striking feature of the castle is the
stepped gable
A stepped gable, crow-stepped gable, or corbie step is a stairstep type of design at the top of the triangular gable-end of a building. The top of the parapet wall projects above the roofline and the top of the brick or stone wall is stacked in a ...
of the ''
palas
A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval ''Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson, ...
'' on the north side which, in its present guise, goes back to Landgrave Hesso of Leiningen (before 1435–1467). In the southeast corner the cellar of the Leiningen-Westerburg residence of around 1508 has survived. This is where the ''Burgschänke'' inn was established in the second half of the 20th century.
Today, the southeast tower is an
observation tower
An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, an ...
that is open to the public. The two upper storeys of this tower have been turned into a small
local history
Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. Local history is not merely national history writ small bu ...
museum that exhibits the
stoneware
Stoneware is a rather broad term for pottery or other ceramics fired at a relatively high temperature. A modern technical definition is a Vitrification#Ceramics, vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non-refracto ...
products of an old local factory that closed in 1932, as well as other handicrafts.
The local village, which is connected to the castle both geographically and historically, was built around the same time (13th century). The coherence and extent of its historic buildings has only a few parallels in the region.
Sights and culture
Viewing point
![Burg Neuleiningen Aussichtsturm](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Burg_Neuleiningen_Aussichtsturm.JPG)
From the observation tower of the castle there is an outstanding view of the
Upper Rhine Valley
The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben (German: ''Oberrheinische Tiefebene'', ''Oberrheinisches Tiefland'' or ''Oberrheingraben'', French: ''Vallée du Rhin'') is a major rift, about and on average , between Basel in the so ...
to the east, the mountains of the Palatinate Forest to the south and west and the massif of the
Donnersberg
The Donnersberg ("thunder mountain") is the highest peak of the Palatinate (german: Pfalz) region of Germany. The mountain lies between the towns of Rockenhausen and Kirchheimbolanden, in the Donnersbergkreis district, which is named after the ...
to the northwest. At the foot of the hill village of Neuleiningen is the hamlet of Neuleiningen-Tal and the neighbouring villages of
Grünstadt-Sausenheim and
Kleinkarlbach
Kleinkarlbach is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
Location
The municipality is a winegr ...
. In clear weather, there are views of
Ludwigshafen
Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning " Ludwig's Port upon Rhine"), is a city in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the river Rhine, opposite Mannheim. With Mannheim, Heidelberg, and the surrounding region, it form ...
,
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
, and the
Odenwald
The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
Location
The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried'' (the northeastern section ...
, and planes may even be seen taking off from
Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport (; german: link=no, Flughafen Frankfurt Main , also known as ''Rhein-Main-Flughafen'') is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the world's leading financial centres ...
.
Conversely, at night, the illuminated castle is an impressive sight from the
A 6 motorway (
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is S ...
–
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
) immediately to the north. In the direction of Mannheim it appears against the backdrop of the densely populated Rhine valley whilst, 20 km behind the castle silhouette, is the well-lit
BASF
BASF Societas Europaea, SE () is a German multinational corporation, multinational chemical company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters is located in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
The ...
factory in Ludwigshafen.
Events
![Burg Neuleiningen, östlicher Burghof mit Schenke](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Burg_Neuleiningen%2C_%C3%B6stlicher_Burghof_mit_Schenke.JPG)
Since 2004, the courtyard has been the venue for the Neuleiningen Castle Summer Concerts (''Neuleininger Burgsommers''). On five Saturdays between June and August,
open-air concert
A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or ho ...
s are held here.
In 2007 the Castle Wine Festival took place within the castle walls for the first time. Organised by local vintners, it has been established as a regular event.
References
{{Authority control
Landmarks in Germany
Castles in Rhineland-Palatinate
Ruined castles in Germany