Marksburg

Never destroyed

Only two of the 40 hill castles on this stretch were never destroyed

Of the 40 hill castles between Bingen am Rhein and Koblenz, the Marksburg was one of only two never destroyed. The other is Maus Castle. It was used for protection rather than as a residence for royal families.

40hill castles between Bingen am Rhein and Koblenz

Tree rings

The wooden beams date the oldest parts to 1239

A fortification was built around 1117 to protect the town of Braubach. The oldest datable parts, the base of the keep and the lower part of the original hall, were built in 1239, based on dendrochronology of the beams.

The counts

The Katzenelnbogen counts built most of the castle seen today

Count Eberhard of Katzenelnbogen inherited the castle through his wife. Through the 14th century the counts expanded the defenses. Around 1340 they built a Gothic chapel dedicated to St Mark, which gave the castle its name.

Napoleon

It became a prison, and later the seat of a castle society

Napoleon gave the Marksburg to the Duke of Nassau, who used it as a prison. In 1900 it passed to the German Castles Association, which has had its head office here since 1931. In March 1945 American artillery badly damaged it.