Burg Camberg

Burg Camberg once stood on the highest point of Bad Camberg at about 222 metres above sea level. King Rudolf I granted Camberg town rights around 1281, and Count Gerhard IV of Dietz built the castle there, probably on the site of an earlier royal estate called Kaynburg. Burgmannen, or castle knights, were stationed to defend it. After the Dietz counts died out in 1386, the castle passed through several hands, including Adolf of Nassau-Dietz, and was repeatedly divided and fought over. Decades of disputes ended in the Diezer Vertrag of 27 July 1564, when Nassau-Dillenburg and Kurtrier finally split the county of Diez. Camberg fell to Kurtrier, and by 1772 the castle was described as ruined. In the 19th century the present town hall was built on the old castle site, so no above-ground remains of the fortress survive today. Visitors to Bad Camberg can still sense the castle’s former importance. The Rathaus on Am Amthof 15 occupies the same commanding height once held by the medieval stronghold. The building’s position and the surrounding streets echo the layout planned when Camberg became a town. Though nothing of the walls or towers remains, the spot offers a quiet view over the town and the countryside beyond.