The Ruins of Rodenstein and the Rodensteiner Ghost

Rodenstein Ruin (Ruine Rodenstein)

A visit to the ruins of Rodenstein Castle makes a nice day out for the family, especially when combined with a hike in the surrounding hills.

Rodenstein Castle was built in the 13th century by two brothers, Rudolf and Friedrich, lords of Crumbach. They built their new castle on the  Germannshöhe mountain, and from that point on, in 1256, they were known as the lords of Rodenstein (von Rodenstein).

In 1346, the Rodenstein family sold half their interest in the castle to Count Wilhelm I of Katzenelnbogen and in 1433 Philip I of Katzenelnbogen acquired further shares.  The castle then fell into the possession of Henry III, Landgrave of Hessen, when the Katzenelnbogen family became extinct in 1479.  By 1635 however, the castle was back in the hands of the Rodensteiners as it is recorded that the last residents, Adam von Rodenstein and his family all died of the plague, leaving the castle empty.   

Entrance to Rodenstein Ruin

The castle complex in the 13th century consisted of a rectangular inner bailey (Kernburg) with approximately 1.2 m strong walls with rounded corners. On its most vulnerable side, facing the mountain, the Kernburg was attached to a 2.2 meter thick curtain wall, while a ring wall protected the castle on the sloping sides to the north and east. A stone Palas stood in the north corner of the complex. The lords of Rodenstein obviously felt that the castle, with it’s bailey and curtain wall, was secure as they dispensed with building a Bergfried, a structure found in almost ⅔ of the castles containing a curtain wall.  Unlike English castles in which a keep served both purposes, German castles of this era usually had a Bergfried for protection and a Palas as a place for people to reside in during times of peace.

Though there is little evidence of their existence, probably due to their having been constructed of wood, the complex would surely have had a variety of outbuildings in the Vorburg, that part of a castle compound that supplied the needs of the inhabitants of the castle complex. A Vorburg would include not only cowsheds, servants housing, warehouses, barns, workshops, etc., but also administrative buildings and guest houses. This entire complex was encircled by a courtyard wall with a gate on the side facing the mountain.

The castle was extended in the 14th century by a larger residential building, the eastern gate tower, a tower in the south, and a tower with a gateway in the middle of the west side of the courtyard (Zwinger) wall.  About 1500, a mill tower, a gate tower and a prison tower were all built on the north part of the complex.

The castle never suffered damage during war or sieges but simply fell into disrepair and was stripped of building material over the ages.  Today the castle belongs to the Gemmingen noble family, who can trace their lineage back to Alemannic knights.

Hofgut Rodenstein

Pack a picnic to enjoy at the castle, or you may want to stop in at the foot of the hill at Hofgut Rodenstein for cake and coffee, or perhaps something more substantial.  If you want to stay a bit longer, the Hofgut also offers overnight accommodation.

The Legend of the Rodensteiner

The Rodensteiner legend tells of a ghostly knight of the Rodenstein family whose movements across the Odenwald portend the beginning of war and the subsequent return of peace.

The first written accounts of the legend are found in the Reichenberger Prtokollen of 1742 to 1796, administrative records kept by the Counts of Erbach.  The records tell of eyewitness testimony from some of the inhabitants of Gersprenztal who claim to have seen the ghostly knight and his entourage, accompanied by barking hounds, neighing horses and blaring trumpets, as they moved from the ruins of the knight’s castle at Schnellerts to the ruins of Rodenstein Castle and back again.  There were claims of having seen the knight just before the beginning and end of the Seven Years War in 1756-1763, during the Napoleonic Wars, and then later during the 1848 revolution and the Franco-Prussian War.

The Rodensteiner legend says that while the knight was alive he married a beautiful woman, who soon became pregnant with his first child. Shortly before his wife was to give birth, a feud broke out and the knight wanted to go and take part in the fight.  His wife begged him not to go, but he didn’t listen.  While the knight was away, his wife died in childbirth.  Her ghostly figure appeared to the knight and said, “You chose war over love, and from now til the last day you will be the messenger of war.  The knight died on the battlefield and was buried at his castle in Schnellerts, though he can not rest as he is doomed to carry his message across the Odenwald for all eternity.  It is said that when the knight leaves his castle at Schnellerts and travels to Rodenstein, war will begin and that peace will return once the he travels back from Rodenstein to Schnellerts.   

The legend of the Rodensteiner knight have caught the fancy of poets and storytellers, and there are many poems and stories about the knight, some of which you can see on placards as you walk the trails near the Rodenstein ruins.

Refreshments and Accommodations

🏨🍷	Hofgut Rodenstein, An der Burgruine , 64407 Fränkisch-Crumbach, +49 (0) 6164 1087, info@hofgut-rodenstein.de, www.hofgut-rodenstein.de/ Restaurant Opening Times:  Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11:00

Sources:

1. Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Hesse (Hrsg.): Ruine Rodenstein . In: DenkXweb , online edition of cultural monuments in Hesse
2. Rodenstein, municipality Fränkisch-Crumbach. Historisches Ortslexikon for Hesse. In: National Historical Information System (LAGIS). Hessisches Landesamt für Historisches Landeskunde (HLGL), as of December 2, 2010 , accessed on July 10,
3. Website to the Ruine Rodenstein