Nanstein Castle
* * * Today closed * * *
Opening hours:
| Entrance fees:
last update: February 1st 2024
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Arrival:
coordinates for GPS: 49.409563,7.574183 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
'Nanstein' Castle is located at the edge of the Palatinate forest, the biggest continuous forestall area in Germany.
History of the castle:
| the bildout of the rock 'Nanstein' can be just documented in second half of the 12th century | |
| 1152 - 1160 | Friedrich Barbarossa (Emperor Friedrich I Hohenstaufen) constructed an imperial palace in Kaiserslautern. As shelter for the streets and the country arose around the imperial palace several castles. Some other castles of that protective circuit are 'Beilstein' (Hochspeyer) and 'Hohenecken Nanstein'. |
| 1189 | first certificate of 'Nanstein' Castle. |
| 1444 | the regimen of the castle is divided, five different families had the power: 1st co-owners: counts of 'Sponheim' 2nd co-owners: counts of 'Zweibrücken-Bitsch' 3rd co-owners: counts of 'Nassau-Saarbrücken' 4th co-owner: duke of 'Zweibrücken' 5th co-owner: knight 'Wirich Puller of Hohenburg' |
| ~ 1479 | knight Schweikert von Sickingen (father of Franz von Sickingen) got a part of the castle through the marriage to Margarete Puller von Hohenburg (mother of Franz von Sickingen) |
| 1518 | knight Franz von Sickingen gained all parts of Nanstein Castle => sole ruler of the castle - From that time on he began to convert the castle to a fortress (Battery-tower) |
| 29.04.1523 | the three princes secular: Landgrave Philipp of Hesse, archbishop and elector Richard of Greifenclau (Trier) and prince secular Ludwig V. of Palatinate besieged the fortress of Landstuhl |
| 30.04.1523 | the three princes secular started the borbardement |
| 2.05.1523 | a wall with 24 feet diameter came down |
| 1542 | the sons of Franz von Sickingen regained the properties of Landstuhl back but not the money and the jewels |
| 1543 | the castle was converted a la Renaissance style |
| 1590 | the grand-son of Franz von Sickingen, Reinhard built a bastion at the north side of the castle |
| 1620 | engraving of Merian |
| 1668 | prince elector of Palatinate detonated parts of the castle |
| 1689 | command of Louis XIV. to burn the castle |
| 1815 | the reign of Palatinate belonged to Bavaria |
| 1856 | some citizen of Landstuhl began to remove the rubble of the castle and to expose the wall remains |
| 1869 | Carl Ferdinand Stumm became the new owner of the castle and began to rebuilt parts of the “Battery-tower” |
| 22.03.1871 | after the French-German war of 1870/71 an oak was plant as a peace symbol |
| 1903 | the ruin and the forest became part of the kingdom of Bavaria |
| 1946 | the area became part of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate |
| 1969 | the tower with the stairs was restored |
| since 1963 | castle plays in the summer time |
| 1979/80 | second floor of the 'Battery-tower' was rebuilt |