Burg Caldern

Burg Caldern stands on a narrow ridge above the village of Caldern in Lahntal. The ruins sit on a steep-sided spur of the Hungert hill at 319 metres, with sheer cliffs up to seven metres high on the north side. A low wall and ditch guard the gentler southern approach. The rocky crest is divided into two knolls by a shallow saddle, the northern one forming the small 0,04-hectare castle site. The site was founded soon after the year 1000 by Count Giso I and rebuilt in stone around 1030. Archaeologists led by Rolf Gensen measured a rectangular stone tower measuring 9,60 by 7,50 metres outside and 6,60 by 4,50 metres inside, with walls 1,50 metres thick. Finds include a bone flute, an iron spur, gaming pieces and animal bones showing that pork was the main meat eaten. Visitors walk up the spur to the oval plateau where the tower once stood. The ring wall still follows the contour, stepping out sharply on the east side where a drawbridge may have crossed. On the terrace below the cliffs a memorial marks where a German fighter crashed in December 1944. The steep slopes drop away on every side, giving wide views over the Lahn valley.