Burg Naumburg: A Medieval Castle and Administrative Seat in Germany
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.4
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Germany
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Holy Roman Empire
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page5 sections
History
Burg Naumburg is a ruined medieval hilltop castle in Germany near Bärenbach, first mentioned around 1146 and later used as the administrative seat of the Amt of Naumburg. Its name, also found in forms including Nuenburc, Nuenburg, and Neuenburg, means “new castle” and may refer to a new foundation associated with either Kyrburg or Hachenfels, although the exact relationship remains uncertain.
Early references and noble ownership
In about 1146, Raugraf Emicho described himself as “Count of Nuenburc.” A Raugraf was a medieval German nobleman whose family could control castles, villages, courts, and dependent holdings. Roughly fifty years later, Werner von Bolanden claimed that Duke Konrad had granted him Nuenburg near Kyrburg as a feudal fief, although his possession was temporary.
The castle remained linked to the financially troubled Raugrafen. In 1323, Raugraf Konrad V of the Stolzenberg line offered Nuenburg near Kyrburg to Archbishop Balduin of Trier as a fief for 600 pounds of heller, a medieval German currency. In 1325, Raugraf Heinrich of the Altenbaumburg line assigned his property held outright, known as allodial property, by testament to his wife, children, and his stepdaughter’s husband, Count Philipp of Sponheim-Bolanden.
Transfer to Sponheim and administrative use
Financial pressure led the Raugrafen to pledge or transfer parts of their possessions. Raugraf Georg II of Stolzenberg pledged half of Naumburg Castle to Count Walram of Sponheim in 1349. In 1362, Raugraf Ruprecht IV of Altenbaumburg pledged Becherbach, Limbach, Sulzbach, and Hof Gauschisberg as security for a financial obligation.
In 1381, Raugraf Heinrich V, the last member of the Altenbaumburg line, transferred the castle to Count Simon III of Sponheim. Naumburg then served as an administrative seat within the Vorder County of Sponheim, whose ruling dynasty controlled territories in the region. The Amt of Naumburg, an administrative district combining governmental and judicial functions, oversaw the courts of Becherbach, Bärenbach, and Martin-Weierbach, parts of Oberreidenbach and Löllbach, and dependent inhabitants in several other villages.
The territorial partition of 1707 assigned the Amt to the Baden share. Its administrative seat moved to Herrstein in 1776, ending Naumburg’s role as the center of the Amt. French forces destroyed the castle in 1803. Extensive clearance and structural-safeguarding work followed between 1986 and 1994.
Remains
Hilltop ruins
The remains of Burg Naumburg occupy a hill in the Naheland beside Federal Highway B 41, between Idar-Oberstein and Kirn, at approximately 243 metres above Germany’s standard elevation datum, known as NHN. The former hilltop complex survives as a ruin, with only several foundation walls visible.
