Burgruine

The Scherenburg is a ruined hillside castle above Gemünden am Main in Lower Franconia. It stands on a hill 200 metres above sea level, overlooking the Main and Saale valleys and the Spessart hills. The Counts of Rieneck built it before 1243 as a toll castle to control river crossings. Nearby the Bishop of Würzburg responded by building his own castle, Slorburg, to show his power. A treaty in 1243 ended the dispute between them. The castle passed to Würzburg in 1469 and was renamed after Prince-Elector Rudolph II of Scherenburg. It served as an Amtskeller until 1598 and remained inhabited into the 18th century. A wedding was held in the castle chapel in 1732. By the late 18th century the buildings were falling into ruins. The town of Gemünden took ownership in 1965 after private hands held it for a century and a half. Visitors today see the castle gate in the southeast and part of the old shield wall. The round bergfried still stands but is closed because bats live inside. Remains of the palas include cellars and a gable wall. A small zwinger has been turned into a terrace with wide views over the valleys below. Every summer since the 1990s the Scherenburg Festival stages open-air theatre in the courtyard of the ruins.