Erfenstein Castle
| Erfenstein Castle | |
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| Burg Erfenstein | |
| Esthal-Erfenstein | |
The ruins of Erfenstein from the opposite side of the valley
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 Erfenstein Castle
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| Coordinates | 49°21′12″N 8°00′50″E / 49.3532°N 8.0138°ECoordinates: 49°21′12″N 8°00′50″E / 49.3532°N 8.0138°E |
| Type | hill castle, spur castle |
| Code | DE-RP |
| Height | 265 m above sea level (NN) |
| Site information | |
| Condition | ruin |
| Site history | |
| Built | before 1272 |
| Materials | rusticated ashlar |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants | ministeriales |
Erfenstein Castle (German: Burg Erfenstein) is a medieval spur castle in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It lies within the Palatine Forest above the Elmstein Valley at 265 m above sea level (NN) in the vicinity of the hamlet of Erfenstein in the municipality of Esthal (county of Bad Dürkheim). Together with nearby Spangenberg Castle, it is linked to the legend of the Leather Bridge.
When and by whose instigation Erfenstein was founded is not known for certain; however its builders were the Leiningen counts on whose land Erfenstein lay. The castle was probably established to protect the extensive tracts of forest owned by the House of Leiningen in the surrounding area.
In 1272 the first record of the castle mentions a ministerialis, Bock of Erfenstein, who was a descendant of the lesser nobility in the Leiningen Land and who lived at the castle with his family. In 1439 specific rights were granted by deed to Siegfried Bock of Erfenstein, clearly a descendant of Bock, in the parish of Dirmstein.
The castle's ownership switched between the two lines of the House of Leiningen, the Leiningen-Hardenburg and Leiningen-Rixingen branches, as a result of inheritance and division. The Rixingen line held the castle together with the village of Esthal until 1345; thereafter it became a Ganerbenburg or castle owned by joint inheritance. After numerous disputes amongst the joint owners the castle went to the counts of Sponheim in 1415. When their family died out, ownership of the castle went back to the Leiningen-Hardenburgs.
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