Like most of the castles in the Rhineland-Palatinate, Landeck Castle was built in approximately 1200. It served probably the function of protecting the nearby Klingenmünster monastery. The first documental reference to Landeck Castle was made in 1237.
In the period around 1500 there were castle administrators from the Kurpfalz, the bishop of Speyer and the counts of Zweibrücken. At the end of the 15th century extensive work was done at Landeck Castle. During the Peasants’ War in 1525 it was damaged, but obviously quickly repaired.
In 1570 there was again a change in ownership. After the dying out of the Zweibrücken-Bitch lineage their share of the castle went to the Kurpfalz. It was not until 1709 that the Electors succeded in owning the entire property of Landeck Castle, when the Speyer bishopric gave up the remaining quarter by exchange. The Kurpfalz remained the only owner until the French Revolution. In the 1960’s the castle was extensively restored.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.