Emichsburg Castle

Preserved parts of the castle complex include the tower of St. Martin's Church, some building sections, and the curtain wall. The remains are partially integrated into subsequent constructions.

The castle, whose original name is not known, was probably built near the western edge of the Rhine plain in the 12th century by the counts from the noble family of Leiningen. The village of Kleinbockenheim, which has been part of the municipality of Bockenheim since 1956, probably grouped around the castle only afterwards. In modern times, Kleinbockenheim has only grown slightly to the south and east into the flatter terrain.

The fortified Kleinbockenheim, built by the Leiningers, was besieged for ten days in 1460 during the Mainz Diocesan Feud by Elector Frederick the Victorious of the Palatinate and finally destroyed along with the castle. Count Emich VIII refortified Kleinbockenheim, but Frederick burned down the town again in 1471 and once again razed the fortifications. However, these were restored in the same year by Emich VIII. His successor Emich IX of Leiningen-Hardenburg also rebuilt the castle in 1502 and named it "Emichsburg" for the first time.

By 1593, Emich XI transformed the complex into a Renaissance manor. This was severely damaged several times in the 17th century during the Thirty Years' War and the Palatinate War of Succession.

In 1730, Count Karl Ludwig von Leiningen-Dagsburg-Emichsburg (1704–1747) had a new residential building erected on the castle grounds. The complex served as his main residence, and he named his new family branch after it. The preserved Renaissance portal apparently still dates from the old building. The castle was renovated between 1752 and 1766. Its final destruction occurred when the French Revolutionary Wars permanently spread to the Electoral Palatinate in 1797/98. The Leiningers were dispossessed by France, and the ruinous Emichsburg in Kleinbockenheim also fell to the French state under Napoleon Bonaparte, who had it auctioned off in 1806. After Napoleon's final defeat, the Kingdom of Bavaria took over the former Electoral Palatinate in 1816. In 1818, the manor was sold to the pastor and notary Friedrich Weiß from Großbockenheim. Heinrich Janson acquired it from his widow on October 17, 1831. Together with 28 hectares of vineyards and farmland, it cost 40,000 guilders.

In 1906, during excavation work under St. Martin's Church, the former crypt of the Leiningen counts was accidentally discovered. However, it turned out to be plundered and was refilled.

Today, the area houses a winery named "Schlossgut" (Manor Estate). It is still owned by the descendants of Heinrich Janson.

The Emichsburg in the Odenwald was built in 1828 by Prince Karl zu Leiningen as a hunting lodge and bears its name in memory of the family's former Bockenheim residence.

Community Center "Emichsburg"

The Bockenheim community center, built towards the end of the 20th century, was also named "Emichsburg" after the former castle. It was built between Groß- and Kleinbockenheim, where the House of the German Wine Route has also stood since 1995.

"Emichsburg Prize"

The Emichsburg Prize is awarded at the Bockenheim Dialect Days, which are held in Bockenheim every spring. It recognizes special merits in dialect, dialect literature, and regional culture.