Burg Eppstein

Burg Eppstein stands on a rocky spur 200 metres above the town of Eppstein in the Taunus hills. Built in the 10th century as an imperial fortress, it guarded the border of the Holy Roman Empire and was first recorded in 1122. Half of the castle soon passed to the Archbishopric of Mainz, while the other half remained with the Emperor until the 12th century. The Eppsteins, who took their name from the castle, made it the centre of their lands. After family divisions and financial troubles, the western half was sold to Hesse in 1492 and rebuilt as an administrative centre. When the last male Eppstein died in 1535, the remaining half passed through several hands before being split between Hesse and Mainz after the Thirty Years War. Today the ruins show parts from the 14th and 15th centuries. The round bergfried still rises 24 metres, its two high entrances reached by roofs and attics of adjoining buildings. The kitchen block, built by Mainz in about 1500, preserves its outer walls and ground floor, once the ladies’ chamber. The eastern Mainzer Schloss, with its 18th-century chapel used until 1903, is the only fully intact structure.