Nürburg Castle: A Historic Fortress in Germany’s Rhineland-Palatinate

Visitor Information

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Official Website: www.nuerburg.de

Country: Germany

Civilization: Medieval European

Remains: Military

History

Nürburg Castle stands on a volcanic basalt cone near the village of Nürburg in Germany’s Rhineland-Palatinate region. The site likely hosted a Roman signal tower to protect a Roman road crossing the Eifel area before the medieval fortress was built. The castle itself was first recorded in 1166 under the names Noureberg or Mons Nore.

The initial construction of Nürburg Castle is credited to Count Ulrich von Are, mentioned in documents from 1169. His father, Dietrich I von Are, probably began the early fortifications. The von Are family, also known as the lords of Nürburg and Are, served as vassals to the Archbishops of Cologne and the Hohenstaufen emperors within the Holy Roman Empire.

Around 1290, the male line of the von Nürburg family ended, and control of the castle passed to the Electorate of Cologne. The Electorate appointed a castellan to manage the fortress. Between 1340 and 1369, under the leadership of Amtmann Johann von Schleiden, the castle was expanded with outer stone walls. A third ring of fortifications was added in the 15th century, enhancing its defensive strength.

By the 16th century, Nürburg Castle had fallen into disrepair. Restoration efforts were funded by the archbishopric to maintain the structure. During the Thirty Years’ War in 1633, Swedish troops led by General Heinrich von Baudissin captured and looted the castle. Imperial forces regained control in 1674.

In 1689, French soldiers destroyed Nürburg Castle during the War of the Palatine Succession. The fortress was not fully rebuilt afterward. The main tower, known as the bergfried, was used as a prison until 1752. Structural decay forced its abandonment, and local villagers later quarried the ruins for building materials.

In 1818, Prussian authorities restored the bergfried to serve as a triangulation point for surveying, demolishing the forecourt in the process. The ruins were conserved in the 1920s and placed under the care of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Office for Monument Preservation in 1949. Archaeological excavations and restoration took place from 1968 to 1974 and again from 1988 to 1989. Masonry repairs have continued since 2014.

Remains

Nürburg Castle occupies an elongated site oriented west to east atop a 676.5-meter volcanic basalt cone. Its layout features a small rectangular core fortress surrounded by three successive rings of stone defensive walls built in stages. The inner core dates to before 1340, the second ring was added between 1340 and 1369, and a third ring was constructed in the 15th century to protect now-lost burgmann houses, which were residences for castle knights or officials.

The castle’s walls and towers are built from local volcanic basalt stone. Surviving towers on the outer walls have conical roofs. The centrally located bergfried stands about 20 meters tall and currently functions as an observation platform. In the 19th century, some external walls were partially demolished to improve visibility for optical signaling equipment installed on the bergfried.

No remains of the forecourt survive, but foundations mark where it once stood. The only entrance was on the eastern side, accessed by a drawbridge. Inside the entrance area, a small exhibition presents the castle’s history. The ruins are partially preserved, with significant sections of walls and towers still standing, while other parts lie in ruin.

The site is surrounded by mixed forest and overlooks the northern loop of the Nürburgring racing circuit at the hill’s southern base. In 1952, a ski slope with lifts and a jumping hill was built on the northern side of the castle hill, integrating modern recreational use with the historic site.