Staufenberg Castle

Burg Staufenberg stands on a low hill in the town of Staufenberg, 268 metres above sea level in the Vorderer Vogelsberg. The ruins crown the same hill that gave the town its name. First mentioned in 1233 as Stouphenberch, the castle was built by the Counts of Ziegenhain to protect Fulda Abbey’s lands. In 1273 it was partly destroyed during a war between Hesse and Mainz. After the last Ziegenhain count died in 1450, the land passed to Landgrave Ludwig I of Hesse, who rebuilt and strengthened the fortress. During the Thirty Years’ War the castle was ruined again and left to decay. The upper ward still shows parts of the great hall. A 13-metre corner tower with a surviving spiral staircase now carries an open viewing platform. The lower ward, once the castle’s service buildings, was turned into a hotel in the 19th century by Princes Ludwig and Heinrich of Hesse-Darmstadt. Hugo von Ritgen planned the romantic restoration. In 2002 the upper ward became the town’s property, while the hotel remains in private hands. Visitors walk past remnants of curtain walls and towers that once enclosed the inner courtyard. Inside the hotel, medieval stonework blends with later additions. From the tower platform the view stretches across the surrounding countryside. The site is quiet, with only the wind in the trees and the distant sounds of the town below.