Altdahn Castle (german: Burg Altdahn) is a castle ruin in the Palatinate Forest, the German part of the Wasgau region. It is located near the 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 ...

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 ...

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 stands above sea level (NN).

Location

The

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 ...

of Altdahn belongs to the group of castles at Dahn, which also includes Grafendahn and Tanstein. Although the three castles are sited next to one another on a low, rocky ridge, they were not built at the same time. A similar type of castle arrangement is also found e. g. in the nearby French

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 ...

in the upper

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

where there is a cluster of three castles at Husseren-les-Châteaux. Other sights nearby include the castle of Neudahn and the natural rock formation of

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 ...

History

Altdahn was probably built in the early 13th century. Certainly in 1236 the castle was being run by Frederick of Dahn as a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

(''

Lehnsmann A ''Lehnsmann'' (plural: ''Lehnsleute'' or ''Lehnsmänner'') or ''Lehnsnehmer'' (also spelt ''Lehens-'') was a nobleman in the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries, who, as a liegeman was obliged to render service, goods in kind and loyalty to ...

'') of the Bishop of Speyer who, at that time, was Conrad IV of Dahn and may well have been a relative. The subsequent history of the castle is characterized by many wars and frequent destruction, that was, time and again, followed by rebuilding. Wappendahn

Altdahn was first destroyed in 1363 in the course of a feud between the Dahns and the Fleckensteins. In the end a

squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a ...

took possession of the castle and carried out temporary repairs. In 1372 it was destroyed again and the squire driven out. In 1406 the castle was destroyed in the War of the Four Lords, which played out from 1405 to 1408 especially in the Bliesgau, 40 kilometres to the west. In 1426 and 1438 the castle caught fire without being caused by any military action. After two centuries of relative prosperity Altdahn suffered further damage during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

(1618–48). And right at the start of 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 ...

the castle was finally destroyed in 1689 by French troops under General Mélac. On 11 May 1820 a rockfall occurred, that caused the majority of the remaining ruins to collapse.

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...

, the composer and artist, visited the ruins on 5 August 1844 in order to paint them. The originals are in Oxford, but copies may be seen in the museum,Burgmuseum des Burgenvereins Dahn e. V. as can a medieval silver spoon engraved with the coat of arms of the lords of Dahn.

Description

On the ridge of the Dahn castle group, which run roughly from east-northeast to west-southwest, Altdahn Castle occupies the two largest, easternmost rock outcrops, which have a total length of about . Its access is in the northeast, where the gateway and a small, water-filled

neck ditch A neck ditch (german: Halsgraben), sometimes called a throat ditch,
at www.roadstoruins.com. Accessed on 3 Jan 2012. is a dry

have survived. The

lower ward An outer bailey or outer ward is the defended outer enclosure of a castle.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 22. It protects the inner bailey and usually contains those ancillary bui ...

is dominated on the north side by a horseshoe-shaped turret (''Geschützturm'') and, on the south side, by another tower of similar design. Other notable remains of the

upper 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 ...

on the western rock outcrop that have survived, include the north wall 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 ...

'' and a

watchtower A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...

that, from the remains of an oriel, indicate that it may well have been used as a

garderobe Garderobe is a historic term for a room in a medieval castle. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives as its first meaning a store-room for valuables, but also acknowledges "by extension, a private room, a bed-chamber; also a privy". The word der ...

tower. The southern part of the palas was destroyed in the rockslide of 1820. This also opened the remains of a round cavern, in the rock in the shape of an inverted cone, that has been identified as a cistern or

dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...

. On the remains of the eastern side, rusticated ashlar stonework is visible. The isolated eastern castle rock is accessible over a narrow gangway. It used to support a small tower. Altdahn-22-Palas-2015-gje.jpg, View of the surviving northern wall of the ''palas'' and tower Altdahn_südturm.jpg, The South Tower and lifting wheel Tanstein_altdahn.jpg, View of Altdahn from Tanstein looking over Grafendahn Altdahn-32-Nordturm-2015-gje.jpg, The North Tower

Conservation measures

In 1877 the first conservation work was carried out by the Dahn Conservation Society (''Dahner Verschönerungsverein'') under the Bavarian government. In 1936, during the Nazi era, restoration work was restarted. After an interruption caused by the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

they continued from 1960 to the present day. In 2007, cracks were confirmed on a 1,100 ton block of

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

on the castle. If this were to break, a third of the castle would be destroyed.

Geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

s placed sensors against the rock in order to observe further changes. Using

abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...

s on the ground, the rock was secured, but these measures were very expensive and time-consuming.

Die Rheinpfalz ''Die Rheinpfalz'' is a German–language regional newspaper based in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The paper is one of the leading newspapers which serve the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. History and profile ''Die Rheinpfalz'' was first published in ...

, 25. April 2007 The all clear was given in June 2008, because the sensors did not pick up any further movement of the rock. The electronic sensors were removed and replaced with manually readable "rock spies" (''Felsspione''). The rock will be closely watched for a further two years.

, 6 June 2007

References

Literature

* * Stefan Grathoff: ''Die Dahner Burgen. Alt-Dahn – Grafendahn – Tanstein.'' Führungsheft 21. Edition Burgen, Schlösser, Altertümer Rheinland Pfalz. Schnell und Steiner, Regensburg, 2003, . * Walter Herrmann: ''Auf rotem Fels. Ein Führer zu den schönsten Burgen der Pfalz und des elsässischen Wasgau''. DRW-Verlag Weinbrenner, Braun, Karlsruhe, 2004, . * Elena Rey: ''Burgenführer Pfalz''. Superior, Kaiserslautern 2003, . * Günter Stein: ''Burgen und Schlösser in der Pfalz. Ein Handbuch''. Weidlich, Frankfurt 1976, . * Alexander Thon, Peter Pohlit: ''Grafendahn''. In: Jürgen Keddigkeit (ed.): ''Pfälzisches Burgenlexikon''. Beiträge zur pfälzischen Geschichte Bd. 12/2, Institut für Pfälzische Geschichte und Volkskunde, Kaiserslautern, 2002, , pp. 213–223. * Alexander Thon (ed.): ''...wie eine gebannte, unnahbare Zauberburg. Burgen in der Südpfalz''. 2nd edition. Schnell und Steiner, Regensburg, 2005, , pp. 18–25.

External links

Dahner Felsenland: ''Altdahn–Grafendahn–Tanstein''
* {{Ebidat, 102, Burg Altdahn, Altdahn Castle Landmarks in Germany Castles in Rhineland-Palatinate Rock castles Ruined castles in Germany