Womburg

The Womburg was a hilltop fortification in the Spessart hills of Lower Franconia, near the villages of Schimborn and Mensengesäß. It stood on a wooded slope above the Kahltal valley, overlooking the Mömbriser Senke. The site lies within the parish of Krombach in Aschaffenburg district. Its name, first recorded in 1443 as ‘Waneburg’, probably means a masonry structure in a hollow or depression. The counts of Rieneck are thought to have built the Womburg around the early 13th century. Because every fortification in the region required Mainz archiepiscopal approval, the castle may have been demolished or dismantled on its own. It was only 1.5 km from the nearby Hauenstein castle, raising questions about whether both stood at the same time. Today the Womburg is marked by low earthworks and scattered stone on the hillside. A forest track climbs past the site from Krombach toward Schimborn. Visitors can walk the faint remains and enjoy views across the valley toward Mömbris. The quiet woodland setting gives little hint of the raids once launched from this ‘robber-baron’s lair’.