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Burgruine Hohenstein
Burgruine Hohenstein
Closed from October to March
Hohenstein Castle near Bad Schwalbach in the Rheingau-Taunus district sits 330 meters above sea level on a rock above the Aartal valley. Built around 1190 by a branch of the Counts of Katzenelnbogen as a stronghold in the border region between Mainz, Trier, and Nassau-Idstein, it became the main residence of the family in the first half of the 13th century. After the Katzenelbogen line died out in 1479, Hohenstein fell to Hesse, where Landgrave Moritz von Hessen-Kassel modernized and fortified it around 1600. Architectural drawings by master builder Wilhelm Dilich document its magnificent condition with a central castle, angular outer bailey, neck ditch, drawbridge, and courtyard completely surrounded by residential and representative buildings. The Thirty Years' War led to damage, and reconstruction failed. Today, mighty ruins remain: an inner shield wall with six-story towers, an outer late Gothic shield wall with a gate tower, and a polygonal keep. Hohenstein serves as the backdrop for the Taunusbühne theater every year and remains an impressive monument to castle construction in the Taunus region.