Hohenecken Castle

The exact time of the castle's origin is not fully clear. While older assumptions suggested a foundation shortly after the construction of Barbarossaburg around 1156, newer archaeological findings point to a construction start around the year 1200. In particular, the unusual pentagonal keep and the massive shield wall support this later dating. In the first half of the 13th century, the castle was granted to a ministerial family from Kaiserslautern, whose members subsequently called themselves "von Hohenecken". This family was a descendant of the knight Reinhard von Lautern, who in 1214 was enfeoffed by Emperor Frederick II with the patronage rights of Ramstein.