The remains of the Castle can be visited
CastleHallgarten
Montfort Castle
Montfort Castle is the ruin of a spur castle three kilometers northwest of the municipality of Hallgarten in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate. The ruin is located between Hallgarten and Duchroth on a 280 m above sea level high hill in the middle of a forest.
The castle was built around 1240 to monitor a nearby military road by the Counts of Veldenz, who appointed Eberhard von Lautern as their vassal.
Until 1432, the castle remained in the possession of the Lautern family, who had borne the name "von Montfort" since 1247.
In the 15th century, the inhabitants of the Ganerbenburg (castle with shared ownership) temporarily acted as robber knights. In 1456, the troops of the Archbishop of Mainz, Diether von Mainz, and Elector Friedrich I of the Palatinate conquered and destroyed the castle complex.
In 1480, Simon Boos von Waldeck received the castle as a hereditary fief, with permission to rebuild it. The Boos von Waldeck family, from the eponymous Waldeck Castle in the Hunsrück, had been co-owners of Montfort Castle since the end of the 14th century.
Although there are some indications of a reconstruction of one of the residential towers, Montfort remained a ruin for many centuries. For many years, the ruin was divided among four private forest owners and residents. Following certain safety requirements from the supervisory authority, the district of Bad Kreuznach took over the ruin in 1969, had it secured and renovated.
Today, Montfort Castle ruin can be visited free of charge.
Complex+
Thanks to extensive renovation work, the current castle complex essentially shows its condition after destruction and provides a vivid picture of a medieval castle, whose appearance was not altered by modernizations or reinforcement constructions in later times.
From the ruin, wall remains of the outer bailey, the zwinger, the gatehouse of the outer bailey, as well as the gate of the upper bailey, the curtain wall, the rump of the keep (accessible), the two residential towers up to the height of the third floor, the foundation walls of the well house, the ladies' chambers, and the stables are still standing.
The castle museum thus displays in a lapidarium remains of architectural parts of the medieval building and a reconstruction model of Montfort Castle. In addition, the museum presents archaeological finds from the castle ruins, such as ceramics, glass, and iron.
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Location: 49.7654, 7.7674