Reifenberg Castle

Reifenberg Castle, formerly also known as Riffinberg or Reiffenberg, is located in the Oberreifenberg district of Schmitten im Taunus in Hesse. A residential tower and a shield wall from the 14th century, the older keep, and some smaller parts of the complex are preserved. The castle is the core of the Reifenberg lordship.

The hilltop castle at 680 m above sea level was first documented in 1331. Its construction at that time was probably more than a hundred years old. There are even indications of an even earlier start of construction in the tenth or eleventh century.

The castle belonged to the Reiffenberger ("Riffinberg") family, who were related to, if not identical with, the Hattsteiners (those of "Hazechenstein" or "Hatzechinstein"). The castle may have been built because Hattstein Castle, located about 1.5 km away as the crow flies, had become too small.

Since the 14th century, the inhabitants of the castle were involved in numerous feuds, in which, supported by changing allies, they not only fought against the Falkensteiners residing near Königstein, Kronberg, the imperial city of Frankfurt ("Kronberg Feud") and Mainz. There were also battles between the different lines of the Reiffenberger. Thus, during the "Hattstein Feud" which lasted from 1428 to 1435, the inhabitants of Reiffenberg Castle, together with Frankfurt and Kurmainz, conquered Hattstein Castle in 1432 and even destroyed it in 1467. In 1560, Friedrich von Reiffenberg from the Weller line (Westerwald line) conquered Reiffenberg Castle, which belonged to the Wetterau line of the Reiffenberger. In 1587, he had it burned down.

The castle was restored, but was subjected to renewed destruction during the Thirty Years' War. The last knight of Reiffenberg, Philipp Ludwig, temporarily lost the castle to the Swedes from 1632, then to the imperial troops from 1644. In 1646, it was destroyed. Only after the Peace of Westphalia did Philipp Ludwig get the castle back and have it restored.

With Philipp Ludwig's death in 1686, the Reiffenberger family also died out in the Wetterau line, after the Weller line had already died out in 1665. Philipp Ludwig's brother-in-law, Count Johann Lothar Waldbott von Bassenheim, inherited Reiffenberg Castle. Only a little later, in 1689, it was finally destroyed in the War of the Palatine Succession.

Since the late nineties, the Burgverein Reifenberg e.V., founded in January 1995, has been working on the renovation of the castle, which had fallen into disrepair over decades, organizes festivals and concerts, and is working on the creation of a museum on the history of the castle. To secure the residential tower, the Burgverein financed the construction of a roof. This led to conflicts with the monument protection authorities, who rejected a reconstructive renovation. Instead of the oak and slate roof desired by the Burgverein, a metal/glass construction was erected, which met with opposition both because of its appearance and its poor weather protection.