Runkel

Runkel
Coat of arms
Runkel
Location of Runkel within Limburg-Weilburg district
Coordinates: 50°24′19″N 8°09′18″E / 50.40528°N 8.15500°E / 50.40528; 8.15500Coordinates: 50°24′19″N 8°09′18″E / 50.40528°N 8.15500°E / 50.40528; 8.15500
Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Admin. region	Gießen
District	Limburg-Weilburg
Government
• Mayor	Friedhelm Bender (SPD)
Area
• Total	43.69 km2 (16.87 sq mi)
Elevation	180 m (590 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	9,561
• Density	220/km2 (570/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	65594
Dialling codes	06482
Vehicle registration	LM
Website	www.runkel-lahn.de/gross/index1.html

Runkel is a town on the Lahn River in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany.

Runkel lies in the Lahn Valley on both sides of the river between the Westerwald and the Taunus, some eight kilometres east of Limburg.

Runkel borders in the north on the community of Beselich and the town of Weilburg, in the east on the communities of Weinbach and Villmar and in the south and west on the town of Limburg.

The town consists of 9 Stadtteile.

The town’s first documentary mention came in 1159 in an enfeoffment document in which a nobleman named Siegfried von Runkel had his name appear as a witness. It is believed that this Siegfried was the one who built Runkel Castle. In 1191 Siegfried married a countess of Katzenelnbogen. This high noble family forced Dietrich of Runkel to open his castles Runkel and Dehrn. No later than 1230, the castle had a chapel, thereby giving Runkel its first church building. In 1288, after years of family disputes, the Lords of Runkel and those of Westerburg sundered into two lines. In 1440, building work began on the Lahn bridge, but owing to the rift between the Runkels and the Westerburgs, the work took until 1448. In 1447 Count Philipp of Katzenelnbogen was the liege lord.

In 1543, Count Johann IV of Wied had Philipp Melanchthon as a guest at Runkel Castle. In 1568, the Reformation was introduced. In 1622, there was yet another family rift when Count Hermann II at Wied drove his younger brother Philipp Ludwig out of the leadership and indeed from the castle. In 1634, the town and the castle were largely destroyed by Count Johann Ludwig Hektor von Isolani’s troops in the Thirty Years' War. In 1649, the castle’s dwelling buildings were newly built as a residential castle.