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:House of the Blackheads (Melngalvju nams) is a building situated in the old town of Riga. The original building was erected during the first third of the 14th century for the Brotherhood of Blackheads, a guild for unmarried German merchants in Riga. Major works were done in the years 1580 and 1886, adding most of the ornaments.
The structure was bombed to a ruin by the Germans June 28, 1941 and the remains demolished by the Soviets in 1948. The current reconstruction was erected from 1995 to 1999. Today the House of Blackheads serves as a museum and sometimes concert hall.