A tree grows atop the ruins of Burg Lindenbrunn, one of many Medieval castles that once dotted the mountaintops of what is now Germany's Palatinate Forest. (Matt Millham/Stars and Stripes)
A tree grows atop the ruins of Burg Lindenbrunn, one of many Medieval castles that once dotted the mountaintops of what is now Germany's Palatinate Forest. (Matt Millham/Stars and Stripes)
A village and the castle ruin complex of Altdahn are visible from atop the Drachenfels castle ruins east of Dahn, about five miles from the French border in Germany's Palatinate Forest. (Matt Millham/Stars and Stripes)
A dizzying view from the steel staircase to the upper levels of Burg Drachenfels, which rise more than 300 feet above the forest floor. (Matt Millham/Stars and Stripes)
Much of Burg Drachenfels, a Medieval castle ruin in Germany's Palatinate forest, is cut into a spire of sandstone. (Matt Millham/Stars and Stripes)
While Burg Drachenfels was destroyed hundreds of years ago, parts of the ruin survived or have been partially rebuilt. (Matt Millham/Stars and Stripes)
A tour guide at Burg Berwartstein pours water down the castle's well to illustrate its depth - some 320 feet. The Medieval castle was destroyed by fire in the 1500s but was rebuilt after World War II. It is the only occupied castle in the region. (Matt Millham/Stars and Stripes)
A view of the torture room at Burg Berwartstein, a reconstructed Medieval castle in Germany's Palatinate Forest. (Matt Millham/Stars and Stripes)
Suits of armor, weapons and a pile of stone catapult ammunition are on display in the armory at Burg Berwartstein in Germany's Palatinate Forest. (Matt Millham/Stars and Stripes)
Crockery sits on a a windowsill in the kitchen of Burg Berwartstein, a Medieval castle in Germany's Palatinate Forest. (Matt Millham/Stars and Stripes)
Tea lights light one of the underground passages below Burg Berwartstein, a Medieval castle partly cut into the red sandstone that blankets Germany's Palatinate Forest. (Matt Millham/Stars and Stripes)
A stained glass window brightens the front of the chapel at Burg Berwartstein, a Medieval castle in Germany's Palatinate Forest. (Matt Millham/Stars and Stripes)
Burg Berwartstein, a Medieval castle in Germany's Palatinate Forest near the French border, as seen from "Little France," a fortification near the castle used in its defense during the Middle Ages. (Matt Millham/Stars and Stripes)
Judging from the number of old castles scattered about the Palatinate Forest’s southern reaches, you’d think everyone lived in one in the Middle Ages.
Stand atop the ruins of Castle Lindelbrunn, for example, and you can see at least three other castles in various states of disrepair just off to the northeast.
While this abundance may render them somewhat ordinary, it doesn’t make them any less interesting. The problem is picking just one to explore. So here are three that can be knocked out in a day: Lindelbrunn, Drachenfels and Berwartstein.
Start with Lindelbrunn, about a 10-minute uphill hike from a parking lot. Nearly surrounded by sandstone cliffs, the castle was all but impenetrable. Feuding lords and bishops threw their armies at it numerous times in the mid-1400s but never caused any serious damage.
Lindelbrunn’s undoing came during the peasant war of 1525. Legend goes that a peasant tricked his way into the castle and lowered the drawbridge, allowing the rest of the angry peasants to get in and ransack the place.
Some of Lindelbrunn’s walls remain, but its best feature is the spectacular view, which includes the restored Empire Trifels castle.
Less than four miles southwest of Lindelbrunn is Drachenfels, a castle remnant that towers over the surrounding forest. Built into a spire of sandstone more than 300 feet tall, Drachenfels is by parts striking and terrifying.
Stairs carved from the rock centuries ago snake up and around the sprawling ruins. Cavelike rooms and nearly hidden hallways offer occasional surprises, such as a shallow well and a window with a dizzying view of the faraway ground.
Large portions of Drachenfels are reasonably well preserved and can take well over an hour to fully investigate. Save the most butterfly-inducing part for last: climbing up to the fist of rock at its top. Steel stairs lead to the upper levels, which include more rooms carved from the rock and views of nearby towns and still more castles.
Best for last is Burg Berwartstein, which looms over the tiny village of Erlenbach bei Dahn. Unlike the other castles nearby, Berwartstein has been fully rebuilt and gives visitors a better sense of what life was really like in the Middle Ages.
Like Drachenfels, Berwartstein is partially built into a tower of sandstone, giving the stunning building an organic character. One of its most remarkable features is its well, a 320-foot-deep hole carved into the rock next to the kitchen.
Like Lindelbrunn, Berwartstein was thought to be impregnable. And like Drachenfels, it was inhabited in the 1200s by well-to-do robber-knights, who lived by the motto “To ride and to rob is no disgrace.”
These ne’er-do-wells would have gotten along well with Hans von Drodt, a field marshal who in the late 1400s made it his headquarters in a campaign to extend the territory of a Palatinate royal. Drodt conquered many of the local villages and another castle, then turned to strongman tactics to make life hell for the Holy Roman Empire and a local abbot, who years earlier levied a church tax on Drodt’s brother, according to a pamphlet available at Berwartstein’s gift shop.
Under Drodt’s command, the castle never fell. But in 1591, after it weathered an untold number of sieges, a fire destroyed much of it. After World War II, castle custodian Alfons Wadle began work to return it to its former glory.
While great for tourism, Berwartstein’s rise from the ashes is likely wreaking havoc on the fragile psyches of the region’s kids. The legend of Drodt is still very much alive here, according to the pamphlet. Mostly, his name is “used to frighten unruly children.”
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DIRECTIONS All three castles are about an hour south of Kaiserslautern and within six miles of the French border. From Kaiserslautern, head south on the L504, then take a right on the B48. After 17 miles, take a left on the L490. Less than two miles later, take a right onto Wasgaustrasse and continue straight onto the K65, which turns into the K91, then the L490. In Vorderweidenthal, turn right at the T junction to stay on L490. As you enter Erlenbach, keep an eye out on the left for the sign for Burg Berwartstein. Park at the top of the hill on the left alongside the road. Lindelbrunn is at Google Maps coordinates 49.143072, 7.898898; Drachenfels is at 49.121409, 7.830738; and Berwartstein is at 49.108607, 7.862751.
COSTS The ruins at Lindelbrunn and Drachenfels are free. Tours of Berwartstein cost 4 euros for adults and 3 euros for children 15 and under.
TIMES The ruins are open daily. Berwartstein is open daily March through October, though hours vary. Generally open from about 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Open weekends the rest of the year with similar hours.
FOOD A restaurant at Berwartstein offers a range of local specialties, such as flammkuchen and saumagen, plus salads and other light fare.
INFORMATION Berwartstein also has three posh hotel suites for rent. For information on Berwartstein, visit burgberwartstein.de.
