Falkenstein Castle

Falkenstein Castle was built around 1200 by the bailiffs of Weida and Plauen. It was part of a chain of castles, which, together with the castles of Treuen, Auerbach, and Schöneck, was intended to secure the eastern clearing area of the Plauen lordship. As a sovereign castle, Falkenstein was granted as a fief to the noble family of Falkenstein, whose presence is documented in 1267 with Johannes von Falkenstein as a vassal of Heinrich I von Plauen. During the Vogtland War, when the bailiffs of Weida, Gera, and Plauen lost large parts of their possessions to Emperor Charles IV and the Wettins, the Falkensteins had to grant King Charles IV of Bohemia the right of access to their castle. By the end of the 14th century, the castle passed into the possession of the Wettins, presumably after the extinction of the Falkenstein family.