Scharfenberg Castle (german: Burg Scharfenberg, popularly also called ''Münz''), is the

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 ...

of a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

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 ...

in the Palatine Forest 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 ...

. It is situated above the small

South Palatine The Palatinate (german: Pfalz; Palatine German: ''Palz'') is a region of Germany. In the Middle Ages it was known as the Rhenish Palatinate (''Rheinpfalz'') and Lower Palatinate (''Unterpfalz''), which strictly speaking designated only the wes ...

town of

Annweiler Annweiler am Trifels (), or Annweiler is a town in the Südliche Weinstraße district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the river Queich, 12 km west of Landau. Annweiler am Trifels station is on the Landau–Saarbrücken ...

Geography

The

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 ...

lies in the forest estate of the municipality of Leinsweiler at a height of 489 metres on a rocky hill with a rounded summit, typical 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 ...

region, as the southern part of the Palatine Forest and the adjoining 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 ...

is called. Scharfenberg and its sister castles, Trifels and Anebos are known as the Trifels Group and are the symbol of Annweiler, which sprawls beneath them in the valley meadows of the River

Queich The Queich is a tributary of the Rhine, which rises in the southern part of the Palatinate Forest, and flows through the Upper Rhine valley to its confluence with the Rhine in Germersheim. It is long and is one of the four major drainage system ...

. In the immediate vicinity lie the sites of two other castles, the ''Fensterfels'' and the ''Has''.

Description

The landmark of the castle is a 20-metre-high ''

bergfried ''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Spanish: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries and in countries under German ...

'', whose walls are made of

rusticated ashlar Two different styles of rustication in the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence; smooth-faced above and rough-faced below.">Florence.html" ;"title="Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence">Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence; smooth-faced above and r ...

s from the

Hohenstaufen era The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

. In addition, parts of the well tower and

enceinte Enceinte (from Latin incinctus: girdled, surrounded) is a French term that refers to the "main defensive enclosure of a fortification". For a castle, this is the main defensive line of wall towers and curtain walls enclosing the position. For ...

may still be seen.

History

Chronicle

Scharfenberg Castle was built in the first half of the 12th century under the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...

king,

Conrad III Conrad III (german: Konrad; it, Corrado; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III and from 1138 until his death in 1152 k ...

, who died in 1152. It was initially probably used as a state gaol. After its subsequent owners, a ''

ministeriales The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a class of people raised up from serfdom and placed in positions of power and responsibility in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire. The word and its German translations, ''Minis ...

'' family, had been named ''Scharfenberg'', it became the seat of the most important member of the family in the early 13th century, the Bishop of

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...

and

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

Conrad III of Scharfenberg Conrad of Scharfenberg (german: Konrad von Scharfenberg; c. 1165 – 24 March 1224) was a Kingdom of Germany, German cleric who became bishop of Speyer (1200–24, as Conrad III) and later, simultaneously, bishop of Metz (1212–24). He came from a ...

. Since its destruction 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: ...

in 1525, the castle has lain in

ruins 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 ...

Popular name

Its popular name, ''Münz'', is often thought to relate to the

right of coinage From the Middle Ages to the Early modern period (or even later), to have minting rights was to have "the power to mint coins and to control currency within one's own dominion." History In the Middle Ages there were at times a large number of mi ...

(''

Münzrecht From the Middle Ages to the Early modern period (or even later), to have minting rights was to have "the power to mint coins and to control currency within one's own dominion." History In the Middle Ages there were at times a large number of mi ...

'') which was granted to Annweiler in 1219 together with its

town rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

. It was suspected that the town had its coins minted at the castle. However, this would have been very inconvenient and full of risk due to the isolation of the castle and its distance from the town. Its name is more likely to be derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word ''munitio'', which means "fortress" or "stronghold". Many other buildings in the Palatinate bear this name without having been connected with a mint.Rudolf Post: ''Pfälzisch. Einführung in eine Sprachlandschaft''. Pfälzische Verlagsanstalt, Landau 1990. pp. 156 ff.

References

Literature

* Rüdiger Bernges: ''Felsenburgen im Wasgau''. Warlich Druck Ahrweiler GmbH, Wuppertal, 2005, , p. 261–263. * * Walter Herrmann: ''Auf rotem Fels''. G. Braun Buchverlag, Karlsruhe, 2004, , pp. 184–185. * Jürgen Keddigkeit, Ulrich Burkhart, Rolf Übel: ''Pfälzisches Burgenlexikon, Band 4.1''. Institut für pfälzische Geschichte und Volkskunde, Kaiserslautern, 2007, , pp. 424–439. * Alexander Thon (ed.): ''... wie eine gebannte, unnahbare Zauberburg. Burgen in der Südpfalz''. 2., verbesserte Auflage. Schnell und Steiner, Regensburg, 2005, , pp. 132–137.

External links

* {{Ebidat, 525, Burg Scharfenberg
Photos of Scharfenberg Castle at Burgenparadies.de

Artist's impression
by Wolfgang Braun Castles in Rhineland-Palatinate Rock castles Buildings and structures in Südliche Weinstraße