Burg Rauenstein

Burg Rauenstein stands on a rocky spur 510 metres above sea level in the village of Rauenstein, deep in the Thuringian Forest. Built as a spur castle, its ruins rise above the steep slopes of the valley. The site once controlled a compact territory of forests, villages and mineral rights. The Schaumberg family held the castle from the 14th century until the 17th, using it as their main seat in the region. The castle’s history is tied to the Henneberg counts and later the Saxon princes. In 1349 the regent Jutta von Henneberg allowed the Schaumbergs to fortify their house called Ruhestein, and in 1351 Markgraf Friedrich der Strenge confirmed it as a Saxon fief. By 1398 the Rauenstein court already governed twenty-five wooded hills, six free villages and the Hiftenberg settlements. After the Thirty Years War the castle was abandoned and partly demolished by imperial troops in 1640. Today visitors find the tall, partly restored bergfried rising from the remaining curtain walls. The ring-mound and shell towers are still visible, though much of the masonry has decayed. The Thüringisch-Fränkischer Geschichtsverein and local volunteers maintain paths across the ruin so that the bergfried can be climbed. From the top there are wide views over the surrounding forest and the village below.