Isenburg Castle

The first documented mention of Isenburg dates back to 1103 in a document by Archbishop Bruno of Trier. The brothers Reinbold and Gerlach von Isenburg, who were already mentioned in other documents in 1041 and 1042, are considered the probable builders of the castle around 1100. Originally conceived as the family's ancestral seat, Isenburg quickly evolved into a Ganerbenburg, a communal complex shared by various family lines, due to the early branching of the lineage. In 1625, the castle was still inhabited and primarily served as a widow's residence. Spanish troops occupied it in 1633 but did not destroy it. After the death of Count Ernst von Isenburg-Grenzau in 1664 and the extinction of the Nieder-Isenburg line, the castle began to decay, exacerbated by inheritance disputes.