Lahr Castle

Lahr Castle is a small castle ruin above the municipality of Burglahr in the Altenkirchen district in Rhineland-Palatinate.

The ruin of the former hilltop castle is located above the Wied valley in the northern Westerwald. The complex lies on a wooded inselberg, just over 200 meters above sea level, which was originally surrounded on three sides by the Wied. Meanwhile, the small river has created a new bed and runs south of the castle and the village of Burglahr. The ruin lies approximately 40 meters above the river.

The construction date of the castle is unknown. At least since the 14th century, the complex has been documented as a Kurköln fief in the hands of the Counts of Isenburg, but it is likely to be significantly older.

In 1449, the Archbishop of Cologne pledged the castle to Count Heinrich of Nassau. In the centuries that followed, the castle changed hands several times. Since the 18th century, the castle has been a ruin; it was later used as a quarry. Only in the 20th century were the existing structures structurally secured.