CastleSasbach am Kaiserstuhl-Limberg

Limburg Castle

Limburg Castle

The remains of the Castle can be visited

Limburg Castle, also known as Limpurg or Alte Limburg, is the ruin of a spur castle on a 272 m above sea level. NN high foothills of the Kaiserstuhl, the Limberg, 40 meters above the Rhine in the municipality of Sasbach am Kaiserstuhl in the district of Emmendingen in Baden-Württemberg.

The exact time of origin of the hilltop castle is not clear. On the mountain plateau, small remains of former Celtic ring walls can be seen. It is presumed that a Roman fort was previously built on the castle site. In 1239, the castle was mentioned as "castrum de Limberch". Former owners of the castle were the Zähringer, Habsburgs, Freiburgers, and from 1498 to 1590 the Counts of Tübingen. In World War II, the castle was bombed in 1945.

Rudolf von Habsburg (1218–1291), Roman-German King (R. I.) and Duke of Austria (R. I.), Count of Habsburg (R. IV.) was born here.

The castle served to monitor the Rhine crossing and had a round tower with a diameter of 5 meters. Foundations of the tower and the earth walls are still preserved from the former castle complex.

Legend+

Rudolf von Habsburg and the Golden Hunting Knife

Once upon a time, when Emperor Frederick rested at Limburg Castle, Emperor Charlemagne is said to have appeared to him in a dream and said to him: "Quickly ascend to the castle, the countess has just given birth to a son. Give him your golden hunting knife as a godfather's gift." Frederick did this immediately and said to the parents: "When the boy goes hunting for the first time, give him this golden knife." When Rudolf was nine years old, he was allowed to go hunting for the first time. On the way, when he was alone, a large wolf attacked him, but as he drew the knife to defend himself, an arrow already struck the animal down. Rudolf looked around in astonishment and saw Emperor Charles. He spoke to him: "When the tip of the knife glows, seek me out here again," so it happened and Emperor Charles now instructed Rudolf with his wisdom and told him how the rule of the Hohenstaufen would soon perish. A third time before setting off on a crusade, the Emperor appeared to him and said: "You will see me once more, then it will be 3 days until your death." (Freely retold after Max Rieple et al.)

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Source: Wikipedia · Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kaiserstuhl_2012_108.jpg

This description draws on the facts documented in the linked Wikipedia article; Wikipedia content is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wording and editing: Mobile History.

Location: 48.1486, 7.6022