RuinBad Vilbel

Vilbel Castle (Ruin)

Vilbel Castle (Ruin)

The remains of the Castle can be visited

Vilbel Castle is a castle ruin in Bad Vilbel in the Wetterau district north of Frankfurt am Main.

The town of Vilbel was first mentioned in 774. In the 12th to 13th centuries, the current castle was built as a moated castle on the Nidda. It is possible that an older motte-and-bailey castle preceded it.

In 1399, due to previous robberies by the lord of the castle, Bechtram V von Vilbel, it was besieged and destroyed by Counts Ulrich V von Hanau and Philipp von Falkenstein; Bechtram was executed. In 1420, the castle was renovated.

The castle fell to the Eppsteiners in 1503. From 1590 to 1803, the castle served as the seat of the Mainz administration and was renovated and reinforced in both the 16th century and again in the 18th century. In 1796, the castle was destroyed by French troops under General Jean-Baptiste Kléber and has remained a ruin ever since.

Current Use+

Since 1955, the castle ruin has housed a local history and well museum, after the city of Bad Vilbel acquired the castle. The moat, which is still filled with water today, also dates from this period. The water in the moat caused considerable damage to the masonry, which has since been extensively renovated. It is presumed that in earlier times the castle did have a moat, but it was dry and could only be flooded when needed.

Since 1987, the Bad Vilbel Castle Festival has taken place annually in the castle courtyard.

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Source: Wikipedia · Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

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: 50.1850, 8.7448