Scharfenberg Castle (popularly also called Münz), is the ruin of a medieval rock castle above the small South Palatine town of Annweiler.
Scharfenberg and its sister castles, Trifels and Anebos are known as the Trifels Group and are the symbol of Annweiler, which sprawls beneath them in the valley meadows of the River Queich. In the immediate vicinity lie the sites of two other castles, the Fensterfels and the Has.
The landmark of the castle is a 20-metre-high bergfried, whose walls are made of rusticated ashlars from the Hohenstaufen era. In addition, parts of the well tower and enceinte may still be seen.
Scharfenberg Castle was built in the first half of the 12th century under the Hohenstaufen king, Conrad III, who died in 1152. It was initially probably used as a state gaol. After its subsequent owners, a ministeriales family, had been named Scharfenberg, it became the seat of the most important member of the family in the early 13th centyr, the Bishop of Speyer and Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire, Conrad III of Scharfenberg. Since its destruction during the Peasants' War in 1525, the castle has lain in ruins.
References:Carlsten is a stone fortress built on the orders of King Carl X of Sweden following the Treaty of Roskilde, 1658 to protect the newly acquired province of Bohuslän from hostile attacks. The site of Marstrand was chosen because of its location and its access to an ice free port. Initially a square stone tower was constructed, but by 1680 it was reconstructed and replaced by a round shaped tower. Successive additions to the fortress were carried out, by the inmates sentenced to hard labour, until 1860 when it was reported finished. The fortress was decommissioned as a permanent defense installation in 1882, but remained in military use until the early 1990s.
The fortress was attacked and sieged twice falling into enemy hands. In 1677 it was conquered by Ulrik Frederick Gyldenløve, the Danish military commander in Norway and in 1719 by the Norwegian Vice-Admiral Tordenskjold. At both occasions the fortress was returned to Swedish control through negotiations and treaties.