Regenstein Castle

Regenstein Castle
Burg Regenstein
Blankenburg (Harz district)
The ruins of Regenstein
Regenstein Castle
Coordinates	51°48′55″N 10°57′35″E / 51.81528°N 10.95972°E / 51.81528; 10.95972Coordinates: 51°48′55″N 10°57′35″E / 51.81528°N 10.95972°E / 51.81528; 10.95972
Type	Rock castle
Code	DE-ST
Site information
Condition	ruin
Site history
Built	12th century

Regenstein Castle (German: Burg Regenstein) is a ruined castle that lies three kilometres north of Blankenburg in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is a popular tourist destination where, each year, a knight's tournament and a garrison festival are held.

Of this once relatively impregnable castle, which was built in the early and high Middle Ages on a 294 metre high sandstone rock towering over the surrounding area, only ruins are visible today. Several internal rooms, carved into the rock, have survived, as have the ruins of the keep. The castle is surrounded by remnants of a more recent fortress. Regenstein Castle is No. 80 in the system of checkpoints on the Harzer Wandernadel hiking trail network. Below the castle is the site of the old Regenstein Mill that used to supply it with water.

in 1162 the Comes de Regenstein (Count of Regenstein), Conrad, was mentioned for the first time. He was the son of Count Poppo I of Blankenburg from the House of Reginbodonen). The castle became renowned mainly through Count Albert II of Regenstein (1310-1349) who, in the 1330s, had frequent disputes with the rulers of the surrounding towns, the Bishop of Halberstadt and the Abbess of Quedlinburg. This has been romantically recounted in the ballad, Der Raubgraf ("The Robber Count"), by Gottfried August Bürger (music by Johann Philipp Kirnberger) and the novel by Julius Wolff (Der Raubgraf).

In the 15th century, the Regenstein counts moved to Blankenburg Castle. Regenstein fell into disrepair and became a ruin. The last male descendant of the noble family, Count John Ernest of Regenstein in 1599.
In 1643 after several changes of ownership Regenstein, which was sometimes written as Rheinstein or Reinstein, was enfeoffed by Archduke Leopold William of Austria in his capacity as Bishop of Halberstadt to the Lower Bavarian count, William of Tattenbach. From then on members of this noble family went under the title of "Count of Reinstein-Tattenbach". In 1671 John Erasmus, Count of Reinstein-Tattenbach was beheaded in Austria for being party to the magnate conspiracy, following which Prince-Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg confiscated the county.