Alt-Erfenstein Castle

The exact founding date and original builders of Alt-Erfenstein Castle are not definitively known. It is assumed that the Counts of Leiningen, on whose territory the castle was located, were the likely founders. Its function was probably to secure the extensive forest areas of the Leiningen family. In 1272, a ministerialis named Bock von Erfenstein was first mentioned in a document, whose family inhabited the castle. Through inheritances and changing ownership, the castle belonged to various lines of the Leiningen family until it was converted into a joint heritage castle in 1345. Following internal disputes, Alt-Erfenstein fell to the Counts of Sponheim in 1415.