Reichenstein Castle

Reichenstein Castle was first documented in 1213, when Philipp III. von Bolanden was appointed bailiff by the Imperial Abbey of Kornelimünster. After a disputed conquest in 1253, it is confirmed that King Rudolph of Habsburg besieged, captured, and destroyed the castle in 1282, followed by a ban on reconstruction. Owned by the Palatine Counts from 1290, who ceded it to Kurmainz in 1344, a swift reconstruction followed. This included a double curtain wall, a rectangular residential tower, and an inner courtyard, complemented by a northern outer bailey. In 1397, the elected Archbishop Gottfried von Leiningen fortified himself in the castle after the Pope had appointed Johann II. von Nassau as Archbishop of Mainz. Negotiations averted further destruction.