The remains of the Castle can be visited
CastleWeilrod-Altweilnau
Altweilnau Castle
Altweilnau Castle, also known as Alt-Weilnau, is the ruin of a hilltop castle above the Weiltal valley at 360 m above sea level in the Altweilnau district of the municipality of Weilrod in the Hochtaunuskreis in Hesse.
Weilnau Castle was built around 1200 by the Counts of Diez and was first mentioned in a document in 1208 under the name Wilnawe. The document also reports on the castle, which must have already existed at that time, as evidenced by dendrochronological examinations of the wood inside the keep.
In 1336, Altweilnau received town rights for nine days and had central importance. In the course of this, walls and a gate tower were erected as fortifications. In 1352, a chapel of Saint Catherine was mentioned, and in 1486, a new castle chapel was built. The castle was inhabited until 1563 and was abandoned from 1608 onwards. The castle increasingly fell into disrepair due to the Thirty Years' War. Stones from the complex were later used in the houses of Altweilnau. Still well preserved and open for visitors today are a strong round keep (diameter: approx. 8 m, height: 17.60 m) with a viewing platform, parts of the curtain wall, and a gate tower with a hip roof.
An old stone staircase and a cast-iron spiral staircase lead up to the open viewing platform of the keep. This offers a panoramic view over the Weiltal valley, the village of Altweilnau, and the Nassau Castle Neuweilnau.
Description+
On the small rocky outcrop stands a regular triangular spur castle with a high round keep. The cellar vault with external access is now filled in. In the northeast, a moat about 14 meters wide was blasted out of the rock; the main access was probably located here. The tower stood freely, while a palas presumably nestled against the curtain wall in the southeast.
Remains of the Altweilnau town wall can probably be traced back to the medieval fortification resulting from the granting of town rights. According to old documents, the complex had seven towers. One of these towers is probably the square gate tower, built in 1340 and still well preserved today, with its steep hip roof.
It is divided into three floors and in earlier times served, among other things, as a kind of time announcement. It was rung for day, night, and at noon. Today it is in private use, and under the roof, a pair of kestrels watches over the inhabitants of Altweilnau.
During restoration work from 1980-1986, the original wall thickness of 2.65 m was restored, among other things. A protocol from August 25, 1980, states: "The construction of the new wall consists of exposed masonry, largely using existing stone material. It is doweled to the rock both vertically and laterally at the rock noses using concrete reinforcing steel with a diameter of 16 mm. In the lower area, the space up to the remaining solid remnants of the old wall is filled with concrete, with vertical reinforcing mesh being inserted."
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Source: Wikipedia · Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image: Joachim Schneeleopard
This description draws on the facts documented in the linked Wikipedia article; Wikipedia content is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wording and editing: Mobile History.
Location: 50.3156, 8.4202