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Burgruine Münzenberg
Burgruine Münzenberg
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The Münzenberg castle ruins, known as the “Wetterau inkwell” due to their striking twin towers, are among the most important Romanesque castle complexes in Germany. With two round keeps, the high gable between them, and massive, partly crenellated walls, they dominate the landscape and are visible from afar, serving as a landmark of the Wetterau region. The complex was built in the mid-12th century as an expression of the Staufer dynasty's claim to power. The Staufers, Roman-German kings and emperors from the 11th to 13th centuries, secured their rule in the Wetterau region with a network of ten castles. This policy was supported by imperial ministers such as the von Hagen-Arnsburg family. Kuno von Hagen-Arnsburg, who had the castle built, took the name Kuno von Münzenberg and, thanks to his proximity to Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, rose to become a dominant territorial power in the region.