Ruppertstein Castle history began in 1198 with the purchase by Count Henry I of Zweibrücken of the hill on which it was built. Little is known of the castle, which was probably built in the 13th century. It was either destroyed in 1525 during the Palatine Peasants' War or had been allowed to fall into ruins by then.
Around 1900 a stone stairway was built on the rocks in order to reach the terrace of the rock on which the castle stood, in order to use it as a viewing point. This stone stairway was refurbished in 2007 by the Pirmasens-Land municipal authorities. A wooden stairway may originally have been used to access the castle.
References:Château de Niort is a medieval castle in the French town of Niort. It consists of two square towers, linked by a 15th-century building and dominates the Sèvre Niortaise valley.
The two donjons are the only remaining part of the castle. The castle was started by Henry II Plantagenet in the 12th century and completed by Richard the Lionheart. It was defended by a rectangular curtain wall and was damaged during the Wars of Religion. In the 18th century, the castle served as a prison.
The present keeps were the central point of a massive fortress. The southern keep is 28m tall, reinforced with turrets. The northern tower is slightly shorter at 23m. Both are flanked with circular turrets at the corners as well as semicircular buttresses. Each of the towers has a spiral staircase serving the upper floors. The Romanesque architecture is of a high quality with the dressed stones closely jointed.