Rabeneck Castle

Burg Rabeneck stands on a rocky spur 415 metres above the Wiesent valley in Franconian Switzerland. The high mediaeval castle overlooks a landscape of steep wooded slopes and open meadows. It lies within the Franconian Switzerland-Veldenstein Forest Nature Park, three kilometres south-west of Waischenfeld. Nearby are the ruins of Waischenfeld Castle and, to the east, the older Rabenstein Castle. The name Rabeneck points to a later building phase than Rabenstein, and both names recall the ravens once linked with execution sites. The castle’s history is traced through the Rabeneck and Rabenstein families from 1217 onwards. After changing hands between the Rabensteins, Stiebars and Bamberg bishops, it passed to the Schönborn counts in the 18th century. In 1975 Norman Schiller bought the castle, making private restoration and public visits possible. The structure preserves traces of its allodial origins, Peasants’ War destruction and 17th-century rebuilding. Visitors reach the inner bailey through the abandoned outer works. Inside, rebuilt sections show the chapel founded in 1415 and later refurbished by the Schönborns. The surrounding Franconian Switzerland offers walks to the Wiesent’s waterfalls and the nearby Schlüsselberg ruins. The rocky hilltop setting gives wide views over the valley and the forested ridges beyond.