Teufelsburg Castle

Teufelsburg is a castle ruin in Felsberg in the community of Überherrn, Saarland. It lies to the west of Saarlouis on the edge of the middle Saartal. The castle is north of Felsberg and is easily reached from Upper Felsberg as well as via the Vauban-Steig, a designated premium hiking path. The castle offers its visitors a sweeping overview of the Saartal and the Hunsrück.

Following the destruction of the Altenfelsberg Castle in 1341 by the electoral prince and archbishop Baldwin of Luxembourg, Duke Johann I of Lorraine built this spur castle from 1354 to 1360. The first documented reference to the castle dates to 1370, and the first knight of Neufelsberg Castle was Arnold von Filsberg - a grandson of Arnold von der Brücke, Lord of Siersburg and Felsberg. The final historical reference to the castle occurs in 1699 when it was already in ruins and no longer inhabited. The stones from the castle were used in 1680 by the French for the building of the fortified city of Saarlouis.

The ruins are made up of the remnants of two castles – an upper, older castle and a lower castle. Following a complete measurement of the castle grounds by Bernd Richter, a model of the lower castle was created that ultimately led to the site's excavation and the lower castle's rebuilding in 1968 according to the existing foundations with a restoration that lasted from 2009 to 2010. By contrast, after being plundered for stones in 1680, the upper castle was never restored.

References:

• Wikipedia

Address

Felsberg, Überherrn, Germany

Details

Founded: 1354
Category: Castles and fortifications in Germany
Historical period: Habsburg Dynasty (Germany)