Runneburg

The Runneburg stands in the small town of Weißensee in central Thüringen. Built in the 12th century by Landgravine Jutta Claricia, half-sister of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, it served as a residence for the Thuringian landgraves. The castle’s five-storey keep and two-storey palace still rise above the old town walls.

The fortress witnessed key moments of German medieval history. In 1180 Henry the Lion defeated the Thuringian landgrave here, and in 1212 Emperor Otto IV laid siege with a trebuchet. Landgrave Louis IV, husband of Saint Elizabeth, held a royal assembly on the Runneburg in 1225. After the Ludowinger line died out in 1247, the Wettin margraves made the castle their regular seat.

Visitors walk through the medieval gatehouse and along the curtain wall. Inside the palace cellars lie original Romanesque foundations, while the upper hall dates from about 1220. A small museum displays finds from the site, and each Whitsun weekend a medieval festival brings the courtyard to life.