Dernbach Castle

Dernbach Castle was one of the rare hilltop water castles. The remains of the castle, built around 1200, and a residential house (now a manor house) built on the castle grounds in the 18th century are located in Dernbach (Westerwald) in the Westerwald district of Rhineland-Palatinate.

The castle was the ancestral seat of the Lords of Dernbach, mentioned between 1211 and 1214 and presumably extinct by the end of the 15th century, who were ministeriales in the service of the Counts of Isenburg at least from 1223 to 1380.

The castle was first mentioned in 1213 in connection with Gerhard von Dernbach and Heinrich I von Isenburg; the latter also became a castellan in Montabaur (ad castrum Humbach) in Heinrich's retinue, and in 1217 he signed a document as a witness (Gerhardus de Derinbach).

In 1380, Philipp von Dernbach sold the castle to Dietrich von Grenzau, from whom it later passed by inheritance to the Hilchen von Lorch family. From 1426 to 1722, the castle was a Trier fief of the Hilchen von Lorch. In 1746, Kurtrier claimed the castle as an escheated fief.

The castle in Dernbach near Montabaur was large, with four towers, three of them round. The square tower was also the gate tower, guarding access to the castle. The floor plan clearly shows that the castle was a residential castle, the complex covers an area of about 100 by 100 meters. The current access to the castle complex, which however has nothing in common with the medieval castle, is located between towers No. 2 and No. 4 on Burgweg. The old access points in the direction of the former Laurentius Chapel and today's sports field.

The castle, as it appears today, is larger. The former residential building is almost completely preserved in its dimensions; it was renovated and enlarged in 1789. The towers and walls are no longer present; two of the southern, round corner towers are only partially recognizable. Farm buildings have replaced the towers and walls. The castle was an agricultural enterprise.

The castle is privately owned and not publicly accessible.