Burg Mömbris

Burg Mömbris stands in the Spessart hills of Lower Franconia, on a spur above the Kahl valley. The site overlooks the old cemetery of Mömbris and once commanded the medieval village below. A steep slope on the Kahl side made the approach difficult for any attacker. The castle was built by the Counts of Rieneck before 1300, probably at the same time as Hauenstein castle. The fortress protected Rieneck lands along the upper Kahl and the Lohr. In 1405 King Rupert ordered Frankfurt and Gelnhausen troops to destroy it. The royal commander, Count Günther of Schwarzburg, led the raid and the burghers dismantled the walls without firing a shot. A later survey in 1708 still showed the outline, but by the late 18th century the castle had fallen into ruin. In 1846 the dangerous bergfried was pulled down and in 1884 more of the structure was removed. Today the castle site is a grassy mound east of the cemetery. Excavations in 2019 found traces of a wooden fort from about 1250, a stone castle built around 1300 and a later fortified house destroyed in 1405. Iron slag shows iron was smelted on the spot. A small sandstone head in the local town hall is thought to come from the castle. The plateau measures roughly 25 by 32 metres and was once ringed by a rampart and ditch.