Hardenstein Castle (german: Burg Hardenstein) is a ruined
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
in
North Rhine-Westphalia, 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
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The Ruhr is a river in western Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia), a right tributary (east-side) of the Rhine.
Description and history
The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an ...
, 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
Nibelungs.
[Parent 67.]
The castle's association with mining led to a legend that
King Goldemar, a dwarf or kobold, dwelled there.
One version of the story, recorded by
Thomas Keightley 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
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