9 Forts to Explore in Rhineland-Palatinate

Berwartstein Castle is located on the southern part of the Palatinate Forest. It was one of the rock castles defending Palatinate during the Middle Ages. The stairs, passages and rooms of the castle are carved out of the rock to form parts that are essential to the defence of the castle. The castle has a well that was hacked out of the rock to the bottom of the valley some 104 metres below.

Beleived to be built on top of a Roman fortification, the castle stands on top of hill above the town of Bingen am Rhein with an amazing panoramic view. Like many of the castles in the Rhine area, this castle too was destroyed and rebuilt many times over.

Lahneck Castle is a medieval fortress located in the city of Lahnstein in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The 13th-century castle stands on a steep rock salient above the confluence of the Lahn River with the Rhine. Lahneck Castle was built in 1226 by the Archbishop of Mainz Siegfried III of Eppstein to protect his territory at the mouth of the Lahn, where the town of Oberlahnstein and a silver mine had come into his possession in 1220.

Trifels Castle is a reconstructed medieval castle at an elevation of 500 m (1,600 ft) near the small town of Annweiler, in tRhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is located above the Queich valley within the Palatinate Forest on one peak of a red sandstone mountain that is split into three. The castle is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Hambach Castle is considered a symbol of the German democracy movement. It is located on the mountain Schlossberg in the eastern outskirts of the Palatine Forest at an elevation of 325m. Archaeological finds shows that the area of Hambach Castle was used in late Roman times.

The Marksburg is a castle above the town of Braubach in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The fortress was used for protection rather than as a residence for royal families. A stone keep was built on the spot in 1100 by the Eppstein family and expanded into a castle around 1117 to protect the town of Braubach and to reinforce the customs facilities. In 1283, Count Eberhard of Katzenelnbogen bought it and throughout the 14th and 15th century the high noble counts rebuilt the castle constantly. In 14

Maus Castle is a castle above Wellmich in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It rests on Rhine's eastside, north Katz Castle in Sankt Goarshausen, opposing Rheinfels Castle at Sankt Goar across the river. Construction of the castle was begun in 1356 by Archbishop-Elector of Trier Bohemond II and was continued for the next 30 years by successive Electors of Trier. The construction was to enforce Trier's recently acquired Rhine River toll rights and to secure Trier's borders against the Counts of Katz

Rheinfels Castle is a castle ruin located above the left bank of the Rhine River in Sankt Goar, Germany. It was founded in 1245 by Count Diether V of Katzenelnbogen. The castle was damaged by French Revolutionary Army troops in 1797. It is the largest castle overlooking the Rhine, and historically covered five times its current area. While much of the castle is a ruin, some of the outer buildings now housed a luxury hotel, "wellness" centre, restaurant. and a museum.

Rheinstein Castle was constructed in about 1317. Rheinstein Castle possesses a working drawbridge and portcullis, which are typical of medieval castle architecture. Rheinstein's courtyard is known as the Burgundy Garden after the Burgundy grape vine growing there. The vine, which is approximately 500 years old, still produces grapes.