Niederburg, Kobern

The Niederburg stands above the village of Kobern-Gondorf in the Rhine-Moselle valley. It is a ruined hill castle on a narrow ridge that rises about 150 metres above the village. The ridge also carries the older Oberburg and St Matthias’s Chapel. The castle’s plan is shaped like an almond, with a tall bergfried at its centre. The bergfried is twenty metres high and has a small entrance eleven metres above ground. A two-storey Late Gothic palas and parts of the outer curtain wall survive alongside a well-preserved cistern. The castle was built in the mid-12th century and first mentioned in 1195. It was held as a Trier fief until the lords of Isenburg-Kobern died out in the 13th century. The estate then passed through marriage to Frederick II of Neuerburg, a branch of the counts of Vianden. After his line ended in 1309 the castle was sold to the Archbishop of Trier. In 1688 the fortress was deliberately destroyed and left as a ruin. Visitors reach the castle by a footpath that climbs from the Mühlbach valley. Inside the walls the bergfried offers a view down to the Moselle and across the surrounding vineyards. The rebuilt upper section of the tower and the restored palas show how the castle once looked. The cistern and wall tower remain largely intact, while sections of the curtain wall and throat ditch mark the original defences. The site is quiet, with only the wind and birds breaking the silence.