The ruin of Madenburg Castle is one of the biggest and oldest castle complexes in Rhineland-Palatinate. The castle was built on a cliff on the outskirts of the Palatinate Forest looking towards the Rhine rift valley.
In 1076 the Madenburg castle appears for the first time in a medieval document. Not a lot is known about the early owners of the castle, the counts of Madenburg. At a certain period it belonged to the Empire and to the Hochstift of Speyer. In 1470 Count Palatine Friedrich I. and his troops conquered Madenburg. In 1525, during the Peasants’ War, the castle was seriously damaged for the first time, but later rebuilt and renovated several times. In around 1689 French troops finally destroyed Madenburg.
References:Vufflens castle was built in 1425 on the site of a previous medieval castle by Henri de Colombier. It is the most significant example of a small group of fortified Romandy castles from the middle ages, characterised above all by its brick construction. In 1530, it was set on fire by Bernese troops. In 1641 it was acquired by the de Senarclens family. The castle is currently privately owned and cannot be visited.
A pleasant 30 minute-walk through the vineyards between Vufflens-le-Château and Denens, offers a stunning view of this magnificent castle, the lake and the Mont-Blanc.